February 18, 2019February 19, 2019
News, Social Activities

World Cancer Day- February 4th 2019

Under the auspices and presence of
H.E. President of the Hellenic Republic Mr. Prokopios Pavlopoulos,

 

the George D. Behrakis RESEARCH LAB was honoured to take part in the organisation of the

official Hellenic National event for World Cancer Day by the

Hellenic Cancer Society and the Greek Ministry of Health

 

EU Commissioner of Food and Health Safety Dr. Vytenis Andriukaitis,

delivered the main speech

“Recent developments in EU tobacco control policies”

 

President of the Hellenic Cancer Society, Dr. Evangelos Filopoulos gave the opening remarks and introduced honoured guests

Minister of Health, Dr. Andreas Xanthos

President of the “Νew Democracy” party, Mr. Kyriakos Mitsotakis

and co-organizer

UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador and President of the Association of Friends of Children with Cancer “ELPIDA”, Mrs. Marianna V. Vardinoyiannis

H.E. the President of the Hellenic Republic Mr. Prokopios Pavlopoulos with Minister of Health -Dr. Andreas Xanthos, President of the New Democracy party- Mr. Kyriakos Mitsotakis, President of the Hellenic Cancer Society- Dr. Evangelos Filopoulos and Director of the Institute of Public Health at the ACG- Professor Panagiotis Behrakis at the Stavros Niarchos Cultural Center for the official Hellenic National event for World Cancer Day on February 4th. 2019.

H.E. the President of the Hellenic Republic Mr. Prokopios Pavlopoulos with

Minister of Health Dr. Andreas Xanthos,

EU Commissioner of Health and Food Safety Dr. Vytenis Andriukaitis and

 UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador and President of the Association of Friends of Children with Cancer “ELPIDA”,
Mrs. Marianna V. Vardinoyiannis 

 

During the event, Professor Behrakis moderated  a panel discussion between the Rector of the National Kapodistrian University of Athens Professor Dimopoulos, President of the Hellenic Cancer Society, Dr. Filopoulos, ENSP General Secretary Mr. Radu-Loghin and reporter Mr. Michaelides. Closing remarks by Professor Behrakis highlighted the importance of protection from passive exposure to secondhand smoke and the need for enforcement of the smoking ban law in public places in Greece.

 

About Cancer1,2
  • In 2018, cancer was responsible for 9.6 million deaths globally (WHO), an estimated 2 million in Europe
  • In Greece, the single most common cause of death from cancer is Lung cancer (20%) while among
    • Men, Lung cancer causes 25% of all  cancer-related deaths
    • Women, Breast cancer causes 16.1% of all cancer-related deaths

Fortunately, 30-50% of cancers are preventable through:

  • Avoidance of tobacco use and secondhand exposure to tobacco emissions (responsible for 22% of all cancer-related deaths)
  • Maintaining a healthy body weight
  • Exercising regularly
  • Vaccination against HPV to prevent cervical cancer

Regular exams by your primary care physician are also important for early detection:

  • Mammogram is recommended to women over 40 years old, every 1-2 years, based on physician’s evaluation
  • PSA checked for prostate cancer in men over 50 years old
  • Colonoscopy for prevention for colorectal cancer

References:

  1. WHO Cancer fact sheet. https://www.who.int/cancer/en/
  2. IARC WHO Global Cancer Observatory. https://gco.iarc.fr/