Cancer is a leading health matter in Ontario. In 2007, there were an estimated 62,700 new cancer cases – 1,600 more than the previous year – and an estimated 26,200 Ontarians died due to cancer. It is expected that the number of new cases will increase by two-thirds by the year 2020.
Yet nearly 50% of cancers can be prevented or detected early, before they pose a risk to a patient’s quality of life or survival.
In 2001, the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care asked Cancer Care Ontario to lead the development of a long-term plan for cancer prevention and screening in the province. The plan, entitled Targeting Cancer: An Action Plan for Cancer Prevention and Detection (Cancer 2020) and developed in collaboration with the Canadian Cancer Society, was released in May 2003. A comprehensive action plan for cancer prevention and screening, the goal of Cancer 2020 is to reduce the number of people diagnosed with cancer and death from this disease in Ontario by the year 2020.
In 2006, CCO released Report on Cancer 2020: A Call for Renewed Action on Cancer Prevention and Detection in Ontario .
This report reviews the province’s progress toward achieving the Cancer 2020 goals and targets. It concludes that important gains have been made, particularly in lowering smoking rates, and calls for sustained action and financial investment in order to meet the prevention and screening targets set out in the Cancer 2020 Action Plan.
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