The goal of the Prevention Programs is simply stated: “Keeping healthy people healthy.”

But the simplicity of the message belies the complexity of the task. We know that approximately one in three people will develop cancer in their lifetime, yet over 50 percent of those cancers are preventable.

The main risk factors for cancer (and many other chronic diseases) are:

• Tobacco use
• Obesity, inactivity, and inadequate nutrition
• Overexposure to ultraviolet radiation

In British Columbia alone, the combined annual cost of smoking, inactivity, and obesity amounts to approximately $3.8 billion.

The BC Cancer Agency Prevention Programs is part of a broad-based strategic approach to cancer control. In 2006, the federal government introduced a five-year, $260-million Canadian Strategy for Cancer Control (CSCC). Dr. Simon Sutcliffe, then President of the BC Cancer Agency, was appointed Vice-Chair of the new Canadian Partnership Against Cancer. Since then the Prevention Programs' Head, Dr. David McLean, has been an active participant.

We share the goals of the CSCC with other agencies and organizations in B.C. Recognizing that resources are precious, we continue to build partnerships and work collaboratively with other stakeholders to support and enhance the ActNow BC goals set in 2010:

ActNow BC's targets:

• Reduce tobacco use by 10%
• Increase the percentage of people who eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables every day by 20%
• Increase the percentage of people who are physically active by 20%
• Reduce percentage of B.C. adults who are overweight or obese by 20%
• Increase the number of women counselled about alcohol use during pregnancy by 50%

That’s why we take the approach we do: keeping current with known intervention and education strategies and collaborating with health authorities in implementing those strategies at every opportunity: in schools, community centres, daycare facilities, doctor’s offices, hospitals, recreation facilities, and in many more venues and at community events across British Columbia. We know that our strategies, applied in timely and effective ways, set lifelong patterns of healthy living for all British Columbians and lead to fewer cancer diagnoses in decades to come.

With the support of the BC Cancer Agency and the Provincial Health Services Authority, we will continue to focus our efforts on creating a different landscape for the future of cancer control.