CSF Supporting the World Cancer Day ‘Upside Down’ Challenge

Today Cancer Support France is proud to support World Cancer Day, which is held every year on the 4th of February. The Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) first launched this initiative on 4th February 2000, to raise awareness, promote research and mobilise global health communities to fight cancer.

In 2025, World Cancer Day embarked on a three-year campaign called “United by Unique”. The aim of this
campaign is to place cancer patients at the centre of cancer care.

One of the most impactful aspects of the campaign is the Upside Down Challenge – flipping photos to reflect how cancer turns people’s lives upside down. This year, our National Bureau is taking part, as you can see here!

“Unique” in recognition that everyone’s cancer journey is unique to them, and “United” because it will take all of us, together, to look beyond the diagnosis and see the person before the patient.
World Cancer Day 2025 made a huge impact :

More than 900 different activities took place in 102 countries around the world
Over 1,000 individuals shared their experiences on social media via the Upside Down Challenge,
flipping pictures to show how cancer had turned their lives upside down.
More than 600 stories were shared on the World Cancer Day website, including the stories of twelve families
documented in photos throughout 2025 via the “12 people, 12 cameras, 12 months” initiative
The campaign also made waves online, with six billion impressions and nine million interactions across different platforms, including dedicated posts by influential figures such as the Princess of Wales, singer Kylie Minogue, FC Barcelona, and the Nobel Prize Institution 2026 will see more people sharing their stories.

To find out more about this incredible campaign and follow its progress, visit the World Cancer Day website at https://www.worldcancerday.org/

Cancer Support France supports World Cancer Day by continuing to raise awareness of the campaign on social media and in the press, and many of our regional associations will be organising local events on and around 4th February, several of which are highlighted here.