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	WHO > Programmes and projects > Cancer > Cancer control: knowledge into action

Cancer control: knowledge into action

WHO guide for effective programmes

In 2005, 7.6 million people died of cancer. More than 70% of those deaths occured in low and middle income countries. WHO has developed a series of six modules that provides practical advice for programme managers and policy-makers on how to advocate, plan and implement effective cancer control programmes, particularly in low and middle income countries.

The WHO guide is a response to the World Health Assembly resolution on cancer prevention and control (WHA58.22), adopted in May 2005, which calls on Member States to intensify action against cancer by developing and reinforcing cancer control programmes.
Short summary [pdf 1.93Mb]

CANCER MODULES

Planning
How to plan overall cancer control effectively, according to available resources and integrating cancer control with programmes for other chronic diseases and related problems.
Download [pdf 1.28Mb]

Prevention
How to implement effective cancer prevention by controlling major avoidable cancer risk factors.

Download [pdf 1.95Mb]

Early detection
How to implement effective early detection of major types of cancer that are amenable to early diagnosis and screening.
Download [pdf 4.78Mb]

Diagnosis and treatment
How to implement effective cancer diagnosis and treatment, particularly linked to early detection programmes or curable cancers.
Download [pdf 5.77Mb]

Palliative care
How to implement effective palliative care for cancer, with a particular focus on community-based care.
Download [pdf 4.21Mb]

Policy and advocacy
How to advocate for policy development and effective programme implementation of cancer control.
Download [pdf 3.80Mb]

TOOLS AND FEATURES

Useful tools
These tools are part of the Planning module which was published in 2006.
1. Team Building [pdf 244kb]
2. Team building - Spanish [pdf 316kb]
3. Assessing partnerships [pdf 74kb]
4. Assessing partnerships - Spanish [pdf 80kb]
5. Web resources [pdf 321kb]
6. Web resources - Spanish [pdf 325kb]
7. Country interviews

Short video
This 2.5 minute video shows the challenges many countries face in preventing and treating cancer through the story of Mariam, a girl diagnosed with bone cancer.
Watch the video

Interview
Listen to Dr Robert Beaglehole, former Director of the WHO Department of Chronic Diseases and Health Promotion, talk about the scale of the global cancer problem and WHO's work in cancer control.
Listen to the interview - 5 min.

Fact file
Fact about cancer; the causes, the burden and ways to prevent and treat.
Read the fact file

Fact sheet
Comprehensive information on cancer.
More information

Photo stories
Stories of people living with cancer show the strong and personal impact of the disease on people and their families.
Photo stories

MORE INFORMATION

Order form
Order cancer modules from WHO Press via mail, e-mail or online
Order form [pdf 51kb]
Order online

Media contacts
Contact us for more information on cancer and other chronic diseases.
Media centre

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Cancer control: knowledge into action

WHO guide for effective programmes

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