May 2, 2007
From Prevent Cancer Now and the Saunders-Matthey Cancer Prevention Coalition
Most research studies, media attention and cancer organizations ignore cancer prevention, over-emphasize pharmaceutical 'cures'
Cancer is now or will soon be the #1 cause of death for women and men in Canada, StatsCanada says. About 200 types of malignancies will kill an estimated 73,000 men, women and children in 2007, including many of the 160,000 Canadians who will be newly diagnosed with cancer this year. The cancer epidemic is well known. What is not so well known is that a significant proportion of cancers and cancer deaths are preventable.
April is always "Cancer Awareness Month" in Canada, but this year, the month of May will offer the opportunity for Canadians to learn about cancer prevention. The non-profit organization, Prevent Cancer Now, a consortium of health practitioners, educators, scientists and activists, will be holding its first national conference, "Cancer: It's About Prevention. It's About Time!" in Canada's capital, at the University of Ottawa, May 24-27th.
Speakers and workshops at the conference will address the many environmental and occupational factors that contribute to cancer, including the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat - plus numerous toxic substances in our homes, schools, workplaces and in common, everyday products.
"There are several reasons why we're staging this conference at the end of May in Ottawa," says Angela Rickman, Executive Director of Prevent Cancer Now. "One of the most interesting is that Sunday, May 27 is the exact centenary of Rachel Carson's birth. It was Carson, in her famous 1962 book, Silent Spring, who warned that unless we eliminated the man-made causes of cancer, that cancer rates would continue to rise to epidemic levels."
