Our History and Plans

Prevent Cancer Now began with a long distance telephone discussion among 15 Canadians across the country in December 2004. It was decided that Canada needed a bold new initiative to focus on primary cancer prevention, to balance costly, seemingly endless searches for cancer cures, and attempts to control cancer through more widespread screening and early diagnosis.

Prevent Cancer Now was legally incorporated in 2007.

Plans

• Promote laws, policies and programs to eradicate exposures to carcinogens and other health hazards by advancing ethical, pragmatic, science-based approaches putting the Precautionary Principle into action by considering:
  • Essentiality (do we need this?)
  • Substitution (choosing the least-toxic means to achieve necessary (not necessarily all) goals)
  • Evidence-based decision-making with data before registration of chemicals and technologies, with systematic review and ongoing information collection
  • Scientific infrastructure and sufficient ongoing Canadian data collection to test whether the assumptions of “no harm” or “acceptable risk” at time of approvals, are borne out in reality
  • Transparent, publicly accessible data and regular re-review of all aspects, including essentiality and substitution
• Promote policies and programs that support organic, regenerative agriculture, landscaping and forestry, through an ongoing Organic Nation campaign
• Provide information, data and tools to assist individuals and other groups to bring changes to prevent cancer
• Engage more individuals and groups across the board, to bring necessary changes to fruition