World Cancer Day

Happy World Cancer Day!

Today is considered World Cancer Day by the Union for International Cancer Control. As the name of the Day of the Organization suggest, World Cancer Day is a day to raise awareness all around the world about cancer, to increase education, and to work together to reduce the incidences of cancer everywhere.

This year's theme is "Close the Care Gap," and is meant to highlight the differences in cancer care aware the world. I'm especially sensitive to this issue. I am very aware of how lucky I have been to have the care that I have had, and I think it's a big reason why I have been able to go 12 years since my treatment. I'm also aware that not everyone is so lucky. I have had readers from over 80 countries (so my Google data tells me), and many of you have written to me with your stories. Not everyone gets the same care. I hope this campaign works -- even just a little bit -- to change that.

With that in mind, is it a little strange to wish everyone a "happy" World Cancer Day?

No, it's not strange. I've been highlighting some potentially bad news over the last few weeks -- three treatments no longer available to us. But there's plenty of good news for Follicular Lymphoma patients, too, even in just the last few days.

For example, the "Cancer Moonshot" initiative that was first created in 2016 was relaunched this week, with the aim to cut cancer deaths in the United States by half in the next 25 years. While there won't be any new money right away (which some see as a big weakness), there will be a greater priority on things like testing and prevention and early detection, and perhaps down the road, providing more funding. I'm choosing to see this as a positive development, despite some things I'd do differently (like involving patients more directly). And, thinking about "closing the care gap," I hope some of the initiatives bring prevention and care to those who haven't gotten it as easily, in the U.S. and around the world.

The other bit of big news this week has to do with CAR-T. The first CAR-T patients, who received the treatment 10 years ago, are still cancer-free. That 10 year time period has some cancer experts saying we can consider the cured. The patients had CLL, a slow-growing blood cancer that is similar in many ways to FL. That has some great implications for us. It's also more complicated than being able to say everyone who has CAR-T will be cured. That's all I'll say about it for now because I plan to write more about it in a few days.

So, yes, I think this is a happy World Cancer Day. If nothing else, it reminds us that there are things to be hopeful about, even if there is always some less happy news whenever we receive good news. 

But we're used to that, aren't we? Personally, I'll hang on to the happy news and keep my focus there.

Enjoy the day, everyone. World Cancer Day is a good excuse to treat yourself to something fun. 

Stay well.