The 4th of February is the World Cancer Day - dedicated to raising awareness of cancer and to encourage its prevention, early detection, and treatment.

World Cancer Day is an initiative of the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC), a leading international non-governmental organization dedicated to the prevention and control of cancer worldwide.

On February 4, 2000, the first global conference on cancer prevention for the new millennium was held. There, the Paris Charter against Cancer was signed.

The target of the World Health Organization is to reduce avoidable deaths from cancer by 25% by 2025.

Globally, cancer is the leading cause of death with 12 million diagnosed with it every year and with 7.6 million deaths. Experts warn that 84 million will die from cancer in the next decade it adequate measures are not undertaken.

According to the National Cancer Registry, the cancer rate in Bulgaria is lower than European averages, but still about 100 Bulgarians are struck by cancer every day and over 18 000 die from it every year. The main problem for Bulgaria is the disease being diagnosed at a later stage.