Prime Minister Stephen Harper of Canada unveiled a five-year, $260-million national program for fighting cancer in the country on Friday. Harper announced the establishment of the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer — a not-for-profit corporation that will oversee the five-year initiative.
The initiative, called the Canadian Strategy for Cancer Control, has been developed by more than 700 cancer survivors and experts.
Harper said the plan “is going to save lives” as it will create a “clearing house” for cancer information and research.
The agency will be made up of roughly 15 members selected from cancer groups, provincial cancer agencies, survivor groups, native groups and the federal government.
The agency will also receive funding from Health Canada for research projects.
Cancer organizations were quick to praise the new partnership.
Cancer is a class of diseases or disorders characterized by uncontrolled division of cells and the ability of these cells to invade other tissues, either by direct growth into adjacent tissue through invasion or by implantation into distant sites by metastasis. Metastasis is defined as the stage in which cancer cells are transported through the bloodstream or lymphatic system. Cancer may affect people at all ages, but risk tends to increase with age, due to the fact that DNA damage becomes more apparent in aging DNA. It is one of the principal causes of death in developed countries.