Cancer is a leading cause of death around the world, according to the WHO, which estimates that, without intervention, 84 million people will die of cancer between 2005 and 2015. Low-income and medium-income countries are harder hit by cancer than the high-resource countries. It is essential to address the world's growing cancer burden and to work on effective control measures.

World Cancer Day is part of the World Cancer Campaign, which responds to the Charter of Paris adopted at the World Summit Against Cancer for the New Millennium on February 4, 2000. It called for a strong alliance between researchers, health-care professionals, patients, governments, industry partners and the media to fight cancer.

Symbols

Did you know, there are different symbols that are used to help promote the fight against different types of cancers? For example, the pink ribbon is a global symbol of breast cancer awareness, while the orange ribbon is associated with child cancer awareness. Another example is the daffodil, which the American Cancer Society sees as a symbol of hope that people share for a future where cancer is no longer a life-threatening disease.