You can now view all of the speaker sessions from the May 6-8 Fifth International Vatican Conference on the conference website. The 3-day virtual event, offered by the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Culture and Cura Foundation, featured over 100 global leaders in science, faith, medicine and technology, all exploring and fostering new conversations about how innovation and novel delivery systems can improve human health.
In my own session on Day 1, “Unite to Prevent Cancer“, I shared the virtual podium with her Royal Highness Princess Dina Mired, Immediate Past President of the Union for International Cancer Control and a fierce advocate for cancer prevention and screening. We focused on the imperative of shifting from a reactive, diseased-focused healthcare system to a proactive prevention-oriented healthcare system. Our session was moderated by Amy Robach, Co-Anchor of “GMA3: What You Need to Know” and “20/20” and reporter for “Good Morning America” and ABC News Platforms.
Over 10 million people died from cancer around the globe in 2020, and another 20 million received a cancer diagnosis. Disparities in health resources continue to cause economically and culturally disadvantaged populations to bear a much higher burden. As the global population ages – soon expected to reach one billion people over the age of 65 – we will see dramatic acceleration in the incidence of cancer.
We have the answers. But we must act now. The world cannot afford to remain in a reactive disease-care system. We can prevent 50% of the world’s cancers using a combination of:
- Evidence-based science;
- Collaboration among diverse stakeholders: policy makers, education, health care systems, and faith-based organizations, foundations, philanthropists, community-based organizations; and
- A focus on prevention.
View the Session: