This Sunday, 4th February, marks the World Cancer Day,The date was established in 2000 by the International Union for Cancer Control to raise awareness of the disease, improve education and promote personal and collective action in the fight against cancer.
Between 2022 and 2024, the theme of the event will be "Close the Care Gap - For fairer care", to remind people that access to early diagnosis and cancer treatment saves lives and that this access must be equal for everyone, regardless of their level of education, income or place of residence.
The role of physiotherapy in oncology
The Order of Physiotherapists is associated with this date, highlighting the role of physiotherapy, whose intervention can be beneficial at different stages:
- PREVENTION - Promoting healthy lifestyle habits (exercise, weight management...);
- PRE-HABILITATION - Prevention and treatment of early and late complications arising from cancer therapies at all stages of the disease;
- REHABILITATION - Restore/maximise function;
- ONCOLOGICAL TREATMENTS - Functional surveillance in the continuum of care;
- ADVANCED STAGE - Improved quality of life at all stages of the disease;
SURVIVOR - facilitating a return to the social state prior to diagnosis