Mr. Speaker, “Not Beyond Us” is the theme of this year's World Cancer Day. This is a message the global community needs to hear.
Currently, 7.6 million people die from cancer worldwide every year. Currently, the Canadian Cancer Society has stated that over 76,000 Canadians died from cancer in the year 2014.
Clearly, there must be a global commitment to drive advancements in policy and implementation of comprehensive national cancer control plans. To succeed in this endeavour, we must share a collective responsibility to support low and middle-income countries.
Ensuring the availability of, and access to, early detection programs for cancer will significantly reduce the cancer burden in all countries. We must stand, nation alongside nation, to ensure that one day, the World Cancer Day theme changes from “Not Beyond Us” to “Now Behind Us”.