Showing our Support on World Cancer Day 2023

Claudette B.
Feb 3, 2023
4 min read

4th February 2023 marks World Cancer Day, a day dedicated to raising awareness of one of the world's biggest killers, cancer.

Every year, around 375,400 people will find out they have cancer, as per Cancer Research UK's cancer statistics for 2016-2018*. That means that each and every day, around 1,000 people will get that dreaded diagnosis, with life as they know it changed forever.

To support World Cancer Day, we're donating once again to Cancer Research UK, pledging £1,000 to represent the thousand who have newly been faced with cancer, today and every day.

Find out more about World Cancer Day and the key issues they are seeking to spotlight, as well as how to make your own donation to Cancer Research UK by reading below.

What is World Cancer Day?

World Cancer Day is an international day observed by the United Nations that stands to encourage the prevention and treatment of cancer, as well as break stigmas and target misinformation.

Established on 4th February 2000 at the World Summit Against Cancer for the New Millennium in Paris, it is a day led by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC), which is the world's largest and oldest cancer organisation, with the impetus to reach the goals set out in the World Cancer Declaration of 2008.

It also strives to tackle gender, socio-economic and racial biases within cancer research, diagnoses and treatment, believing that access to these life-saving services should be attainable for all.

Their 2022 campaign, 'Close the care gap' is a prime example of the work they have done to raise awareness of this issue.

Key issues

Equity in access to cancer care is just one of the key issues World Cancer Day highlights. In fact, there are several others, including:

Prevention and reducing the risk of getting cancer – Since most cancers can be prevented with the right advice, this information must be available to everyone
Myths and misinformation – In a world of baseless research and pseudoscientific social media commentary, misinformation can become rife; World Cancer Day seeks to advise with real sources to back up their findings
Government action – Laws can be challenged, prevention advice can be platformed and treatments can be improved with the right amount of funding and lobbying by government officials
The mental implications of cancer – Mental health is one aspect that is less looked upon when a patient receives a cancer diagnosis due to the obvious physical symptoms
Expenditures – Cancer costs money. Many patients in areas without socialised healthcare can become bankrupt by a diagnosis. Even socialised areas like the UK can suffer exponentially – just look at the NHS crisis. Preventing cancer or treating it early works in everyone's best interest on an economic level as well as a human one
Reducing the skills gap – Ensuring hospitals are staffed with highly-skilled healthcare professionals guarantees the egalitarian manifesto of cancer care for all is met. Staff shortages create a barrier to achieving this goal
Collective will and working together – All nations around the world must make a commitment to eradicating cancer. Putting our minds together will make more room for change and provide impactful results

To learn more about World Cancer Day's key issues, visit https://www.worldcancerday.org/key-issues.

Showing cancer the red card – Cancer Research UK

With a day attributed to rallying for improved cancer research and treatment, it gives charities like Cancer Research UK the megaphone, whose scientists and researchers work tirelessly every day for the betterment of our society.

This attention leads to more donations, which is how they have managed to double cancer survival rates since the 1970s from 1 in 4 to 2 in 4 today.**

We've joined thousands in donating to Cancer Research UK as a result.

A token of generosity

As our avid readers may remember, last year our team raised the funds for Cancer Research UK over the Christmas period, having a Christmas Jumper Day and raffle to earn £500, with a further £500 matched by our company.

This year, we've taken a slightly different approach. Rather than spend money on raffle prizes and new Christmas jumpers to beat the previous competition, we decided to simply donate the £1,000 directly from the company's profits. This way, nothing was spent outside the donation.

A little goes a long way

If you want to donate, too, you don't need to break the bank.

£5 could pay for essential chemicals for scientists in research labs.

£15 could cover the cost of polyacrylamide gel, a substance that separates different-sized parts of DNA and reveals vital clues on how to beat cancer.

£30 can help improve the lives of those with prostate cancer, with just 10 donations of £30 paying for a day trial. This helps us understand things like, whether or not higher doses of radiotherapy can be used while minimising side effects caused by damage to surrounding tissues.

£50 donated by 8 people could buy an exome sequencing experiment, helping us to find out new information about DNA so that scientists can find cancer-causing mutations.

£100 donated by just 5 people could cover the cost of running Cancer Research UK's Cancer Chat forum for one day, giving millions affected by cancer someone to talk to.***

And with our £1,000 donation, Cancer Research UK could pay for 25 patients' cancer biopsies, where a tiny amount of tumour is removed with a needle to be studied in a lab. This treatment helps a patient to receive an early diagnosis, which significantly improves their chances of survival.