On the occasion of World Cancer Day this Thursday, February 4, the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron presents his ten-year national strategy for the fight against cancer.
Reduce the number of cancers and lower mortality
468,000. This is the number of cancers that were diagnosed in France last year. With 1,000 new cases detected every day, cancer is the number one cause of death in men and the second in women. In order to prevent cancers and reduce their mortality, the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron presents this Thursday the priorities for the next ten years. “It is a strategy of great ambition that we are launching today,” he said in a speech available on YouTube. Ambitious in terms of its duration, since “for the first time, it is not a five-year but ten-year project”, but also through its funding: 1.7 billion euros, of which mobilized for the next five years, ie 20% more than between 2016 and 2021. The objectives are clear: to reduce in ten years from 150,000 new preventable cancers per year to less than 100,000; reduce the mortality of the 7 cancers that kill the most; support patients who must learn to live with sequelae.
This ten-year strategy is based on three axes: prevention, screening and support.
Prevention : “40% of cancers could be avoided by more virtuous behavior”, indicated the head of state. In the crosshairs, tobacco, which is the cause of 70,000 new cases of cancer each year, or almost half of preventable cancers. “I hope that the generation that will turn 20 in 2030 will be the first tobacco-free generation in recent history.” To achieve this, the President of the Republic is counting on the increase in the price of cigarettes, the extension of tobacco-free spaces, communication campaigns as well as better support for those who decide to quit smoking. Alcohol is responsible for 1 / 5th of preventable cancers. The goal? Encourage the French to consume better and prevent excess. And this, from an early age in order to acquire good practices as early as possible. Prevention also involves encouraging everyone to have a better hygiene of life, that is to say to have a varied and balanced diet, to practice regular physical activity, to drastically reduce their alcohol consumption and of tobacco.
A screening : the earlier cancers are detected, the greater the chances of a cure. “7 out of 10 people are not screened for colorectal cancer or 90% of these cancers can be cured if they are discovered at an early stage”, argues Emmanuel Macron, who wants to reach 1 million additional screenings per year.
Support: treating the disease is not enough and very often, patients have sequelae (physical and psychological) with which they must learn to live. “The sick need to be accompanied during the illness and afterwards”, underlined the President of the Republic.
