Controlling Cancer: A New Approach to the Cancer Battle
By Sarah Moyal graphic by GDS Digital
When we talk about controlling cancer, people often respond: why not find a cure instead? However, not everyone can participate in developing a cure. Yet everyone can help control cancer. We can do so by eating healthier foods, limiting our alcohol consumption, exercising more, avoiding the sun, tanning beds and smoking.
But more importantly, we can pressure the government to protect us from carcinogens in our environments and products. More research into the chemicals that do cause cancer needs to be done because the list is incomplete. Then the public needs to put pressure on the government to make sure that these chemicals are banned and that businesses are banned from producing or using them. A couple of ways the public can put pressure on the government is by having a Community Conversation or by asking to meet with or writing to a Member of Parliament or Member of Provincial Parliament.
All these steps to reducing our cancer risk are within our control.
Our lifetime risk of cancer is high: 1 in 3 people will have the disease at some point. It doesn't have to be this way. By applying all that we know about cancer we can cut cancer rates in Canada by half. The Campaign to Control Cancer (C2CC) is taking on this challenge of cutting cancer down to size.
The important thing to remember when talking about cancer control is that it doesn't end at prevention and screening. It also has to do with the improvements that need to be made in terms of the quality of care when a person is diagnosed. We need to follow the continuum of care model, which covers every aspect of the cancer cycle from prevention to end-of-life care. For instance there should be more access to psychological and emotional support services for cancer patients and their families. There should also be more systems in place that make navigating the cancer system more simple and less daunting.
The group, C2CC has developed an advocacy tool called Community Conversations on Cancer, which helps to surface the concerns and opinions of citizens. People volunteer to host a conversation about cancer at their business, home, place of worship or at a café. C2CC provides a guide with questions to be asked during the conversation and the host then fills out a survey online on the discussions.
Last year over 3000 people from around the world participated in similar conversations. One man in Australia held a number of sessions with aboriginals. These conversations made so much of an impact that the Minister of Health in South Australia asked to for a meeting to discuss improvements in the cancer system.
In Canada, C2CC is hosting a Cancer Day of Action on November 3rd at provincial legislatures. A final report-- taken from surveys on the Canadian conversations--will be assembled into a final report and distributed to elected officials and the public. People will meet with their local MPP or MLA and discuss the results from the Community Conversations and improvements which to be made in the cancer system.
Already we know that in Canada there is need for improvement regarding a Catastrophic Drug Coverage Plan. Right now one in nine Canadians is not protected against high drug costs. The net effect is that many patients incur high levels of prescription drug costs that were inconceivable only a few years ago. These extreme costs, particularly specialized therapies, have grown beyond the financial reach of many individual families.
We all have a role to play in the fight to control cancer. Not only government needs to act now, but also the public, experts and professionals must play their parts in this new approach to fighting cancer and reducing everyone's risk.
Sarah Moyal is the Public Engagement and Advocacy Coordinator for C2CC or Campaign to Control Cancer.
For more information on the Campaign to Control Cancer or to host a community conversation in your community please visit:
Graphic from GDS Digital under a creative commons license
Article link: www.executivehm.com/news/cancer-worldwide/
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