Non-Communicable Diseases including cancer is one of the World Health Organization's "Ten Threats to global Health"

Source: World Health Organization 2021.10 global health issues to track in 2021.  Available from: 10 global health issues to track in 2021 (who.int)

 

10 million died of cancer in 2020

Source: Globocan 2020. World fact sheet. Available from: 39-All-cancers-fact-sheet.pdf (iarc.fr), accessed 15 December 2021

 

30-50% of all cancer cases are preventable.

Source: World Health Organization, Cancer, Prevention. Available from: Cancer (who.int) accessed 16 December 2021

 

Adopting healthier behaviours and screening for early signs of disease reduce cancer risks. 27% of cancers relate to tobacco and alcohol use.

Sources:

WHO Fact Sheet Cancer http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs297/en/, accessed on 16 December 20121
WHO Global status report on alcohol and health 2014 http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/112736/1/9789240692763_eng.pdf,  accessed on 16 December 2021

 

What can you do to reduce your cancer risk?

Source: WHO Fact Sheet Cancer http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs297/en/, accessed on 16 December 2021

 

The total global economic cost of cancer has been estimated at USD 1.16 trillion

Source: Knaul FM, Arreola-Ornelas H, Atun R, Mendez O, Guerrero R, Alsan M, Seinfeld J.: Investing in cancer care and control. Chapter 3 in: Knaul FM, Gralow JR, Atun R, Bhadelia A. editors for the Global Task Force on Expanded Access to Cancer Care and Control in Developing Countries. Closing the Cancer Divide: An Equity Imperative. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Global Equity Initiative; 2012. Distributed by Harvard University Press

 

If we invested in 11.4USD billion in prevention strategies, we’ll save a massive 100USD billion in avoided cancer treatment costs.

Source: Source: Knaul FM, Arreola-Ornelas H, Atun R, Mendez O, Guerrero R, Alsan M, Seinfeld J.: Investing in cancer care and control. Chapter 3 in: Knaul FM, Gralow JR, Atun R, Bhadelia A. editors for the Global Task Force on Expanded Access to Cancer Care and Control in Developing Countries. Closing the Cancer Divide: An Equity Imperative. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Global Equity Initiative; 2012. Distributed by Harvard University Press

 

Around 70% of all cancer deaths occur in the least developed parts of the world

Source: World Health Organization, Fact Sheets, http://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/cancer, accessed on 16 December 2021

 

90% of low-income countries (LMICs) don’t  have access to radiotherapy – one of the essential ways to treat cancer

Source: Zubizarreta EH, Fidarova E, Healy B, Rosenblatt E. Need for radiotherapy in low and middle income countries – the silent crisis continues. 2015. Clin Oncol (R Coll Radiol) 27: 107-14

 

Only 5% of global resources for cancer prevention and control are spent in LMICs.

Source: World Health Organization, Cancer prevention and control in the context of an integrated approach. Available from: http://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/WHA70/A70_32-en.pdf, accessed on 16 December 2021 

 

By 2040, the global demand for cancer chemotherapy will increase from 10 million to 15 million – two thirds of this demand is expected to come from patients living in LMICs

Source: The Lancet Oncology 2019.  Estimates of global chemotherapy demands and corresponding physician workforce requirements for 2018 and 2040: a population-based study. Available from: http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanonc/article/PIIS1470-2045(19)30163-9/fulltext 

 

Your gender, level of education, level of income and where you live can negatively affect the level of cancer care you receive.

Sources: Report on the Social Determinants of Health and Cancer available from https://www.uicc.org/resources/report-social-determinants-health, accessed on 16 December 2021

 

Half the world's population lacks access to the full range of essential health services and many are denied basic cancer care.

Source: World Health Organization, World Bank and WHO: Half the world lacks access to essential health services, 100 million still pushed into extreme poverty because of health expenses. Available from: World Bank and WHO: Half the world lacks access to essential health services, 100 million still pushed into extreme poverty because of health expenses

 

Today, there are 43.8 million people who are alive within 5 years of a cancer diagnosis.

Source: Globocan 2020 World fact sheet. Available from:   http://gco.iarc.fr/today/data/factsheets/populations/900-world-fact-sheets.pdf