LIVESTRONG(R) Advances Cancer Patients Rights at World Cancer Congress

SHENZHEN, CHINA -- (Marketwire) -- 08/26/10 -- LIVESTRONG advanced the fight against cancer at the World Cancer Congress, which was organized by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) and attended by 3,000 participants from 92 countries, in Shenzhen, China, August 18-21. LIVESTRONG served as a co-sponsor of the Congress along with the American Cancer Society, the World Economic Forum (WEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

At a special press conference, "Pain-Free Cancer - Its Every Patients Right," LIVESTRONG president and CEO Doug Ulman said, "Cancer patients around the world are being subjected to unnecessary levels of pain and that is a moral and ethical failure. By establishing internationally recognized standards for pain management and palliative care, we can balance the medical, legal, bioethical and human rights of cancer patients. We call for collaboration with policymakers that is critical to reducing the suffering caused by cancer."

During the press conference, Ulman made a 100,000 commitment towards LIVESTRONGs work leading up to the U.N. General Assembly special session on noncommunicable diseases in September 2011. Noncommunicable diseases account for 60 percent of the worlds deaths, yet according to the Center for Global Development they receive less than 1 percent of the public and private funding for health.

During the Congress, LIVESTRONG and the American Cancer Society released the joint report, "Global Economic Cost of Cancer." This first-of-its-kind study on the economic cost of all causes of death globally, including cancer and other noncommunicable diseases and communicable diseases, shows that cancer has the most devastating economic impact of any cause of death in the world, costing the global economy nearly a trillion dollars a year. The data from this study provides compelling new scientific evidence that balancing the worlds global health agenda to address cancer will not only save millions of lives, but also billions of dollars.

"These findings are more important than ever in light of the fact that, this year, cancer is projected to become the leading cause of death worldwide, followed by heart disease and stroke," Ulman said at a special event about the report attended by 500 guests. "Now is the time for all of us to drive towards a global focus and not be timid in pushing for resources."

The World Cancer Congress focused on primary prevention, screening and early detection, treatment and management, supportive care, end of life, as well as on how programs, infrastructures and resources are integrated into existing delivery systems. Best practices and the challenges of maximizing effectiveness, efficiency and outreach in different resource settings were an important aspect of dialogue and debate.

In conjunction with the World Cancer Congress, the World Cancer Leaders Summit was held on Thurs., Aug. 19 and sponsored by the UICC, LIVESTRONG, the American Cancer Society, the WEF and the WHO. The Summit was officially convened by Dr. Chen Zhu, Minister of Health of the Peoples Republic of China, and hosted in collaboration with the Shenzhen Municipal Government, the Chinese Anti-Cancer Association and the Chinese Medical Association. The Summit assembled a select and distinguished group of internationally renowned leaders from the health, government, philanthropic and corporate sectors to discuss progress in the global fight against cancer and contribute to a long-term plan supporting the implementation of the World Cancer Declaration -- a global call to action developed by policymakers detailing 11 targets which, if achieved, will help reverse the cancer epidemic by 2020.

LIVESTRONG is committed to working with global health organizations, governments and advocates to raise the global profile of noncommunicable diseases. LIVESTRONG believes that making long term investments in strengthening health systems lies at core of the solution. With the rise of noncommunicable diseases, the world is faced with the deadly interplay between noncommunicable and communicable diseases. Studies and research show that the common risk factors, taken together or separately, make communicable diseases such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria much harder to combat, and the opposite interplay exists too. LIVESTRONG looks forward to working with the communicable disease community as well to reverse the direction of this downward spiral.

At the Congress, the UICC named Ulman to its board of directors. This two-year appointment creates further solidarity between two of the worlds leading cancer organizations.

LIVESTRONG will build upon the success of the World Cancer Congress at the Clinton Global Initiative in New York, Sept. 21-23, to present on the progress of its work to reduce the global cancer burden and help make the case for advancing the needs of noncommunicable diseases.

About LIVESTRONG
Founded in 1997 by cancer survivor and champion cyclist Lance Armstrong and based in Austin, Texas, LIVESTRONG fights for the 28 million people around the world living with cancer today. LIVESTRONG connects individuals to the support they need, leverages funding and resources to spur innovation and engages communities and leaders to drive social change. Known for the iconic yellow wristband, LIVESTRONGs mission is to inspire and empower anyone affected by cancer. For more information, visit www.LIVESTRONG.org.

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