World Cancer Day: Shining a light on progress
February 4 marks World Cancer Day, a global initiative led by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) to raise awareness and inspire action in the fight against cancer. This year, Pfizer is joining the UICC in highlighting the critical need for innovation, collaboration, and support for patients worldwide.
Cancer Facts & Figures 2025, recently released by the American Cancer Society, sheds new light on the current state of cancer care and highlights several trends:
- More women are being diagnosed with breast cancer, but survival rates are also going up with earlier detection and targeted treatments
- Colorectal cancer is increasing in people under 50, making early screening especially important
- Cancer doesn’t affect all groups equally. More work is needed to erase or reduce differences in health outcomes:
- African Americans have the highest death rates for many cancers, including prostate and breast cancer
- Hispanic and Native American communities face challenges like delayed diagnosis and less access to screenings, which leads to worse outcomes
Together, we can continue to make meaningful progress in transforming lives.
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