The Upside Down Challenge - Raising Awareness for World Cancer Day 2025 with the UICC

As part of the larger initiative to promote the Union for International Cancer Control's (UICC) three-year campaign, “United by Unique,” launching in 2025, we're proud to support UICC's global efforts with the Upside Down Challenge. This social-first campaign raises awareness for World Cancer Day today, encouraging individuals around the world to share their personal cancer stories through a unique perspective. This campaign invites everyone to engage with UICC's mission to connect a global community, sharing videos or photos of themselves upside down along with their unique stories of how cancer has impacted their lives.

Why Upside Down?

Cancer turns your world upside down. It changes your perspective on everything: life, relationships, the future. While feelings of grief, pain, and healing may be shared, each cancer experience is unique.?

This World Cancer Day, UICC is asking the community to share their cancer stories.?

Because stories not only inspire—they bring us together and help grow our understanding. Together, we can work towards a world without cancer. One story can inspire—many can change the world.

UICC’s campaign underscores the need for a fundamental shift in cancer care delivery to prioritize people-centred care. With an estimated 20 million new cancer cases and 9.7 million deaths globally in 2022, the urgency for compassionate and tailored care has never been more critical. As Ulrika ?rehed K?gstr?m, President of UICC, emphasizes, “Every person touched by cancer is unique in their experiences and requirements.”

When combined, these unique stories form a collective voice - one powerful enough to bring about systemic change, shaping policies and informing healthcare systems on the urgent need to embrace people-centred care. This is about building awareness, overcoming stigma, and sending a united message to those with the power to create positive change.

“Whether you’re a person living with cancer, a family member, a friend, a medical practitioner, or an advocate, you possess something important: a perspective that is unique to you. By sharing your story, you bring valuable insight and humanity to the conversation, which can inform, energize, and inspire those around you,” says UICC.

The Upside Down Challenge is featured across social media and Digital Out Of Home (DOOH)?placements and has invited audiences to participate and share their stories. Whether online or offline, everyone is encouraged to engage and contribute, helping to reduce the burden of cancer. See some of the powerful cancer stories shared by the community:

For additional information about the Upside Down Challenge and to learn more about UICC’s ongoing efforts to enhance people-centred care in cancer treatment, please visit?www.worldcancerday.org or @worldcancerday on Instagram.