National Cancer Center Hosts Walking Event to Commemorate 'World Cancer Day'

Participants are taking a commemorative photo at the 5km walking event celebrating 'World Cancer Day,' hosted by the National Cancer Center and the local community.
[Photo by National Cancer Center]

[Asia Economy Reporter Chunhee Lee] On the afternoon of the 2nd, the National Cancer Center announced on the 3rd that it held a 5km walking event with the local community at Ilsan Lake Park in Goyang-si, Gyeonggi Province to commemorate 'World Cancer Day.'

World Cancer Day, observed annually on February 4th, was designated at the World Cancer Summit held in Paris, France in 2000. Since then, the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) has led campaigns with different themes each year since 2005 to raise awareness about cancer and contribute to the treatment of cancer patients worldwide. This year's theme selected by the UICC is 'Close the Care Gap,' and campaigns such as the '5K Challenge' to walk 5km and certify participation are being promoted to attract public interest.

The event hosted by the National Cancer Center, the only UICC partner institution in Korea, was attended by political and business figures including Shim Sang-jung, Justice Party lawmaker (Goyang-si Gap), Lee Dong-hwan, Mayor of Goyang Special City, Kim Byung-seok, President of the Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology, Kim Jin-gu, Director of Myongji Hospital, and Kim Won-gil, CEO of Bainer, along with 100 cancer survivors to commemorate World Cancer Day.

At the commemorative speech, Seo Hong-kwan, Director of the National Cancer Center, stated, “Since 2004, the National Cancer Center’s National Cancer Control Headquarters has designated and supported 12 regional cancer centers. At that time in 2005, the cancer mortality rate per 100,000 people outside the metropolitan area was about 25-30% higher than in the metropolitan area, but by 2019, this difference had decreased to less than 10%. However, disparities in cancer treatment between regions and urban-rural areas still exist. Therefore, I am pleased that this event organized by the National Cancer Center can lead to community participation while raising awareness of the seriousness of cancer treatment disparities and helping individuals take care of their health,” he said.

He continued, “Korea supports cancer patients through health insurance and special medical expense coverage for cancer patients, resulting in relatively small disparities in cancer treatment compared to other countries. This is supported by the fact that the 5-year survival rate of cancer patients according to the 2020 National Cancer Registry statistics approaches 71.5%. Going forward, the National Cancer Center will continue to make every effort in all areas including national cancer control projects, research, treatment, and education to reduce the gap in cancer treatment in Korea and fulfill its role as a national cancer control policy institution while enhancing its international standing,” he added.