World Cancer Day takes place on 4 February to raise awareness about cancer internationally every year. Every year on this day, hundreds of activities and events happen around the world, gathering communities, organisations and individuals acting as a powerful reminder that we all have a role to play in reducing the global impact of cancer.
The day is led by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) and was established in 2000. UICC runs World Cancer Day campaigns in 3 year cycles to focus on a particular theme and in turn achieve greater impact. The theme for 2025-2027 is ‘United by Unique’ to highlight every experience of cancer is unique.
2025 will start by inviting individuals to share their personal cancer stories to showcase real stories and different experiences and perspectives. ‘By bringing these stories together into one place, the campaign aims to build a rich collection of voices that serves as a striking illustration of what is meant by “United by Unique”: every person is one of a kind, but no one is alone in the aim to take meaningful and lasting action against cancer. ‘
2026 will be focusing on transforming the stories into powerful advocacy tools to help influence healthcare providers, policymakers and the public about ‘the necessity of integrating people-centred care into national health plans and cancer care strategies.’
2027 is dedicated to making sure the progress made in the previous years is sustainable. The focus is to create robust support networks to ensure that individuals affected by cancer receive high quality cancer care.
Ref: WPW0178 this information was updated November 2024.
