World Cancer Day (4 Feb, 2020)

World Cancer Day (4 February)

A Leading International Awareness Day

One of my senior priests died of cancer at the age of 45. His name is Louis Soe Lwin. He was a rector of the seminary and I was his assistant. He was a good soccer player and strong and smart person. We were together for two years in the formation house as formators and forming our younger generation.

One day after coming back from his medical checkup. He called me privately and said that he was found cancer positive in his liver. It was a real dark day for us. He told me that his time is coming and requested me to pray for him specially to face this kind of terrible darkness with perseverance. He wanted to prepare well for his time.

Since that time onward he was gradually getting thinner and thinner. His skin color was getting dark because of the medicine. Finally, after suffering of intolerable pain he passed away. I never experience such a close friend, like brother, who suffered and died of cancer under my eyes. It was the day that remind me and alarmed me to be aware of the CANCER.

So I looked for in google what the world is doing for theses cancer patients. There I found it this one.

World Cancer Day every 4 February is the global uniting initiative led by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC). By raising worldwide awareness, improving education and catalyzing personal, collective and government action, we're working together to reimagine a world where millions of preventable cancer deaths are saved and access to life-saving cancer treatment and care is equal for all - no matter who you are or where you live. 

Created in 2000, World Cancer Day has grown into a positive movement for everyone, everywhere to unite under one voice to face one of our greatest challenges in history.

Each year, hundreds of activities and events take place around the world, gathering communities, organisations and individuals in schools, businesses, hospitals, marketplaces, parks, community halls, places of worship - in the streets and online - acting as a powerful reminder that we all have a role to play in reducing the global impact of cancer.

This year's World Cancer Day's theme, 'I Am and I Will', is all about you and your commitment to act. We believe that through our positive actions, together we can reach the target of reducing the number of premature deaths from cancer and noncommunicable diseases by one third by 2030.

So, I wish to all of you to Join us on 4 February and speak out and stand up for a cancer-free world.

This World Cancer Day, we can make a difference for millions of people everywhere by committing to actions that will reduce the global threat of the disease.

Our time to act is now. If we do not act-

It is really alarming in our society. According to the research there are 9.6 million people die each year for cancer. That is more than HIV/ AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. By 2030, experts project cancer death to rise to 13milliom. This World Cancer Day, we can make a difference for millions of people everywhere by committing to actions that will reduce the global threat of the disease.

 Let us join our hand and make the world to be aware and alarmed of the bitterness of the threatening disease, CANCER.

By Peter Kyi Maung

Related source; https://www.worldcancerday.org/about-us