According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), cancer is a leading cause of death globally, with nearly 10 million deaths being reported in 2020. Of the various types, breast, lung, and colon cancer are among the most common. With advancement in medicine, many forms of this life-threatening disease can be cured if detected early and treated effectively.

February 4 is observed as World Cancer Day with an aim to increase attention and support for awareness, early detection, and treatment as well as palliative care of this disease. In order to positively impact cancer survival rates, early detection is critical. This can only happen when people remain aware of the risk factors, are hyper-vigilant about symptoms and undergo routine screening—wherein at-risk individuals test to detect cancer before any symptoms appear.