Czechia's Day Against Cancer: Country raises awareness of disease

May 10 marks Czech Day Against Cancer, established to raise awareness of the risk factors that contribute to cancer and help support victims of the disease in Czechia.

A recent press conference of doctors decided that the focus of this year’s observatory event will be lung cancer, which kills about 5,400 Czechs every year. An estimated 6,000 new people get lung cancer in Czechia annually.

According to the president of the Czech Pneumology and Physiology Society of the Czech Medical Society Martina Vašákova, smoking marijuana and tobacco can increase the risk of lung cancer by up to 22 times. 

The Czech Day Against Cancer will also focus on initiatives that help people quit smoking. According to Vašáková, only 30 percent of people who try to quit smoking succeed. Around one in four people in Czechia over the age of 15 smoke tobacco.

The Czech League Against Cancer will organize a nationwide charity event that will raise money via the sale of marigold flowers tied with a blue ribbon. The initiative in 2022 raised over CZK 18 million, which went to support cancer patients and their treatment. 

Residents of Prague who pass through the lower part of Wenceslas Square between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. today will notice the yellow information tents set up by the Czech League Against Cancer. Doctors, an oncologist, and a dermatologist will be available for consultation between midday and 6 p.m.

Last year, state health insurance firm VZP spent over CZK 19 billion on treating around 300,000 cancer patients in Czechia – a year-on-year rise of CZK 2.5 billion. 

The National Cancer Control Plan of the Czech Republic 2030 proposes stronger measures to prevent tumors, detect them earlier, and improve cancer treatment. The project features campaigns that motivate people to change their lifestyles and aims to simplify access to care to help improve early-detection rates.

According to Czechia’s 2023 oncology profile compiled by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Czechia has an above-average number of newly diagnosed cancer patients in the EU. This is due to relatively high smoking, drinking, and obesity rates nationwide.

For example, the National Oncology Register reported in 2021 that Czechia ranked second in Europe for kidney cancer, and third for pancreatic cancer.

Amid increasing incidence rates for many cancers nationwide, the Czech Day Against Cancer will raise awareness nationwide about this omnipresent issue – with the aim of saving thousands of lives.