By Martin Banks - 26th March 2009
It is about raising awareness
Morgan Binswanger
Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong has thrown has thrown his weight behind new efforts to cut the rising death toll caused by cancer.
The 37-year-old American wants to raise awareness of a disease which next year is expected to become the biggest cause of death in the world.
Armstrong is also keen to address the stigma he says still goes with cancer.
The cyclist is currently recovering from a broken collarbone but the chief of staff of his Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF) was in Brussels on Thursday to call for urgent action to tackle the disease.
After meetings with NGOs, the Belgian health minister and US embassy officials, Texas-based Morgan Binswanger said, "Cancer is still seen as being incurable and an immediate death sentence but it is a little-known fact that one third of all cancers are preventable.
"Recovery rates, however, depend on factors like early diagnosis, access to cancer care and screening and one of the things we want to do is make the case for urgent action to address the global cancer burden."
Binswanger outlined a new LAF initiative designed to help combat cancer in three countries including Italy where, he says, "big disparities" exist in cancer care facilities between the north and south of the country.
He also praised the EU for its "enormous" efforts to tackle cancer, particularly in smoking-related cases.
"I am not here to raise funds because the issue of cancer goes beyond that," he said. It is about raising awareness of the fact that many cancers are preventable and giving the public information about the disease."
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