World Cancer Day: How Much Cancer Affects Canadians?

World Cancer Day is observed every year on February 4 around the world. It has grown to the point where some experts consider cancer prevention to be one of the most significant public health concerns of the twenty-first century. Cancer kills millions of individuals worldwide, and its devastating impact is equally felt in rich and poor countries.

Cancer was responsible for about 10 million fatalities by 2020, accounting for one in every six deaths worldwide. Lung, breast, prostate, colon, and rectal cancers are among the most frequent cancers worldwide. Many cancer-related deaths are preventable with early identification, but it is still a big cause of death all around the world.

More than half of all cancer fatalities are caused by only three types: breast, lung, colon, and rectal cancer. According to researchers, alcohol, tobacco, high body mass index, lack of physical exercise, low vegetable and fruit consumption, and other factors contribute to more than one-third of cancer-related fatalities.

How Many Canadians Annually Lose Their Lives to Cancer?

Incidences refer to the number of new cancer cases, whereas mortality refers to cancer-related deaths. In 2024, there were an anticipated 247,100 cancer occurrences and 88,100 deaths in Canada. If you divided these annual numbers on a per-day basis, the picture would become much more worrisome. Every day, 675 cancer cases are diagnosed, and 241 people die in Canada.

The gender distribution of cases demonstrates that males receive more cancer diagnoses than females. In 2024, an anticipated 127,000 males were diagnosed with cancer, compared to 120,000 females.

Categories of Cancer Cases That Are Common in Canada?

Prostate cancer is the most prevalent kind of cancer among men. In 2024, this kind of cancer accounted for almost 22% of all new cases. On the other hand, breast cancer is the most prevalent malignancy among Canadian women. According to estimates, this kind of cancer alone was responsible for more than 25% of all new occurrences in females in 2024.

However, lung cancer is the second most common malignancy in both men and women. Colorectal cancer is also the third most common type of cancer in both sexes.

Good Diet and Exercise Can Reduce Cancer Risk. But How Much?

Indeed, frequent exercise and a healthy diet may lower the risk of cancer. Prostate, breast, colon, pancreatic, and other cancers can all be prevented with exercise and a healthy diet. Being physically active and maintaining a healthy weight immediately reduces your risk of developing cancer.

To reach this goal, you only need to be a little more active. This implies that you don’t have to become a professional runner or join a gym. It only takes a little heart-pounding activity to maintain your body’s equilibrium.

Sitting is bad for our health. Movement of any form is preferable to sitting since it lowers the risk of heart disease, obesity, type 2 diabetes, and various cancers. Engaging in sports like tennis, swimming, jogging, running, and fast cycling is preferable. If not, you can still stay active and fit by engaging in moderate activities like light cycling, brisk walking, or garden care. Lower levels of activity will still benefit you even if you are unable to perform these above-mentioned activities.

Conclusion

Researchers are working to learn more about cancer. A lot of developed nations are also imparting their knowledge to other nations by collaborating on different cancer research programs. Due to all these research initiatives over the decades, the causes of cancer are better understood today than they were in the past. Additionally, modern medical systems in a number of countries are better suited to saving the lives of cancer patients.

Some people think that cancer mainly affects wealthy and developed nations. This is untrue. Because wealthy nations have superior cancer detection systems, there are merely more diagnosed cancer cases there.

This issue also exists in poor and middle-income nations; however, most occurrences go unreported. This indicates that although we have very little data on it, people are dying in poor countries as well.

For this reason, scientists think cancer is a far more serious issue than most of us realise. According to scientists, merely putting modern ideas into practice can prevent between 30% and 50% of malignancies. By maintaining a healthy lifestyle and eating balanced food, we can reduce the risk. To battle cancer, let’s share this information with our friends and family.

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