n late December, Health Canada and Statistics Canada confirmed that cancer is now the leading cause of death for Canadians.
Some 76,000 Canadians died from cancer in 2010, while another 174,000 new cases of cancer were diagnosed nationally. Not included in this statistic are the 75,000 cases of non-melanoma skin cancer, also diagnosed in 2010.
The grim reality is that 48 per cent of all female Canadians and fully 52 per cent of Canadian men will fight their own personal struggle against this disease at least once in their lifetime.
Bill McCullough, president of the Nanaimo Unit of the Canadian Cancer Society, said too many think cancer is someone else’s disease or that it only strikes older Canadians.
“That’s not so.” he said. “We have cases right here on the Island in which those developing cancer are only weeks old. Others, now into their senior years, have dealt with recurring cancers year after year for decades.”
McCullough is chairing the Canadian Cancer Society’s April door-to-door campaign for the mid-Island area and is in need of volunteers.
“Chairing also means walking the walk and knocking on doors, just like every other canvasser,” he said. “To cover Lantzville, Nanaimo and Cedar, we’ll need 56 steady, reliable area captains and another 400 plus canvassers signed up, trained and hot to trot by the end of March.
“This is a people’s fight and we need every bit of help we can get from the people to have any hope at all of winning the fight against cancer.”
For more information please contact the Nanaimo Unit of the Canadian Cancer Society at 250-741-8180.