Cancer Control should be Top Global Social and Political Priority, Says 2006 World Cancer Congress
July 18, 2006 by Gloria Gamat
Filed under Diseases & Conditions
According to information released at the recent International Union Against Cancer (UICC) World Cancer Congress 2006, cancer prevention must become a higher priority in public and private sectors worldwide in order to have a fighting chance against the cancer pandemic.
Former U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop joined public health, economic and business leaders from around the globe in a World Leaders Summit to discuss the need for government and nongovernmental organizations to commit to take action on critical issues, including comprehensive cancer control plans and early detection programs to eliminate the global cancer burden.
The following are the specific actions outlined by the World Cancer Declaration to implement and monitor during the next two to three years:
- Create new opportunities to consistently deliver a set of compelling messages that can be tailored to different country settings and to traditional and non-traditional partners.
- Establish more national cancer control plans, along with the budgets for implementing them.
- Develop an international plan for organizing human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination programs in low- and middle-income countries with high cervical cancer rates.
- Integrate the Hepatitis B vaccine with other routine infant vaccination programs in countries, particularly those with high rates of liver cancer.
- Increase the number of countries with viable and adequately funded cancer surveillance systems, including cancer registries that collect and analyze data about cancer trends.
- Implement the effective strategies identified in the World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC).
- Adopt and implement evidence-based guidelines for cancer early detection and treatment.
- Make pain relief and palliative care an essential service.
- Empower people living with cancer and those touched by cancer to fully participate in community, regional, and country cancer control efforts.
Read more at PR Newswire.
