World Cancer Day is an international day marked on 4 February to raise awareness of cancer and to encourage its prevention, detection, and treatment.
The global initiative aims to prevent millions of deaths each year and when it comes to a disease like cancer, the first step towards its prevention is awareness.
In celebration of the day, the Thrive wellbeing team hopes to empower you with information on spotting symptoms and the simple things we can do to help move towards a cancer-free world.
Cancer In Ireland
Current estimates state that almost 44,000 people in Ireland get cancer each year. Sadly, cancer is the biggest killer in Ireland today accounting for approximately 30% of deaths every year.
Stark statistics show one person dies from cancer every hour in Ireland and there are over 9,000 deaths every year from cancer. The most common types of cancer are prostate, colorectal and lung cancers for males, and breast, colorectal and lung cancers for females.
However, there are things we can do to prevent our risk of cancer and we now know that 4 out of 10 cancers can be prevented.
Prevention
The European Code against Cancer aims to inform people about the actions they can take to reduce their risk of cancer. They produced a code based on scientific evidence that consists of 12 recommendations most people can follow to lower their risk of cancer. You can reduce your risk by 30-50% through making some simple lifestyle changes.
These include:
- Quit smoking
- Avoid second-hand smoke
- Keep a healthy weight
- Stay active
- Eating for health
- Limit alcohol intake
- Be Sunsmart
- Be Aware of the Air: Protect yourself against pollutants
- Reduce radon risk: Radon is a naturally occurring gas found in the environment. It can increase risk of lung cancer when it is present in high levels.
- Women’s advice: Breastfeeding can reduce the risk of breast cancer while some HRT medication can either increase or decrease your risk.
- Get Vaccinations: such as HPV
- Get Screened: Visit https://www.screeningservice.ie/ for more information
Know the signs
The early detection of cancer is imperative to increase the chances of survival. For the day that it is, take some time to check your body for changes or if you have been experiencing anything unusual.
The main changes are classified into three categories: Unexplained, persistent, or unusual.
- Check for any lumps or swelling
- Unexplained bleeding
- Sudden/Rapid weight loss
- Unexplained pain
- Persistent cough, changes in your voice or shortness of breath
- Sores that won’t heal
- Bloating
- Persistent or painful indigestion/heartburn or difficulty swallowing
- Ulcers
- Changes in bowel or bladder movements
- New mole or changes in existing ones
- Any change to your breasts such as shape, size, texture or if experiencing a pain in one breast.
You should talk to you doctor if you notice such changes or patterns and while the majority of times it is nothing of concern – this intervention could save your life.
Supports and services
Thankfully, in Ireland there are a plethora of supports and resources available to help with the prevention of cancer, cancer symptoms and supports to help cope with a cancer diagnosis. Such services and supports include:
- Irish Cancer Society
- Marie Keating Foundation
- HSE’s National Cancer Control Programme
If you are struggling with cancer or supporting someone with a cancer diagnosis, Thrive is here to help. We are available to talk and support those in our community affected by cancer this World Cancer Day, and any other day you may need us.
We would also like to remind all members, students, and their families that CA Support can assist with the financial fallout that an unexpected diagnosis like this can have.
Find out more about World Cancer Day and how you can get involved here.
Information & figures in this article was sourced from; HSE, Irish Cancer Society, Union for International Cancer Control (UICC), European code against cancer.
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