World Kidney Cancer Day 15 June 2023 | Necessity, Theme & History

World Kidney Cancer Day, an initiative of the International Kidney Cancer Coalition, is a global healthcare event commemorated every year on the 3rd Thursday of June to promote awareness about kidney cancer disease worldwide. This year 2023, World Kidney Cancer Day is observed on Thursday, 15 June.

Necessity of World Kidney Cancer Day (WKCD)

Kidney cancer is the 14th most prevalent cancer in the world. In 2020, globally, it was estimated that 4,31,288 were diagnosed with kidney cancer, with a death count of 1,79,368 (41.58%), where men are more affected than women. Renal cell carcinoma, the most frequent kind of kidney cancer, accounts for more than 90% of adult renal malignancies.

Tobacco smoking, alcohol consumption, excess body weight, family history of renal cancer, and lack of physical activity are the main risk factors for kidney cancer. In addition to this, increased blood pressure, chronic kidney disease or kidney stones, long-term dialysis, diabetes mellitus, and Hippel-Lindau disease are also risk conditions that contribute to renal cancer.



Patients with cancer face various challenges and restrictions. Both the ailment and its potential side effects affect them physically and psychologically. Uncertainty about treatment outcome, the perception of a direct threat to life, and the possibility of changes in self-image, physical functioning, family and social duties are all significant sources of psychological stress. Patients with cancer who experience high-stress levels have a poorer prognosis, a lower chance of survival, a higher rate of cancer-specific death, and a lower quality of life.

In 2015, a study reported, higher rate of suicide among renal cell carcinoma patients. Suicide risk increased in people with kidney cancer if they were male and had a distant disease (advance stage). Another study published in 2018 stresses the need of psychosocial support for the kidney cancer patients who were found with elevated psychological discomfort. Patients, doctors, and nurses often fail to mention this and are often unaware of its existence.

The aforementioned signifies the need to identify the risk factors, and raise awareness about kidney cancer globally, in addition to the provision of psychological care, in order to curb the global burden of this "silent disease," which has seen a steady rise throughout the years. World Kidney Cancer Day creates a platform to raise awareness about the disease, advocate access to the best care, in addition to sharing the views, experiences, and insights of kidney cancer patients. 

World Kidney Cancer Day 2023 Theme

This year 2023, the World kidney cancer day theme is “We need to talk about living with kidney cancer”, emphasising the importance of kidney cancer survivorship, which includes consumption of good nutrition, coping with medical side effects and the significance of social networks.

This year, World Kidney Cancer Day takes the platform with the theme to promote the importance of having a good diet, managing the treatment-induced adverse effects and benefit of support from the near ones such as family & friends in order to combat the ailment (kidney cancer) psychologically.

On this day, people from various organisations step forward and carry out activities that promote the importance of expressing emotions, as representing their (kidney cancer patient) worries, anxieties, and the effects on their everyday lives, in the hope of reducing the psychological burden – according to the saying that goes “combating cancer is all mental”. 

This also creates an opportunity to learn more about the available resources such as the presence of peer support groups, counselling tutors and good surgeons that aid them in rebuilding a good quality of life.

Year-by-Year Themes for World kidney cancer day 

• World kidney cancer day 2022 theme (June 16th): We need to talk about treatment options
• World kidney cancer day 2021 theme (June 17th): We need to talk about how we’re feeling
• World kidney cancer day 2020 theme (June 18th): We need to talk about physical activity
• World kidney cancer day 2019 theme (June 20th): We need to talk

History World Kidney Cancer Day 

The first World Kidney Cancer Day was observed in June 2017. The International Kidney Cancer Coalition (IKCC), a group of more than 45 Affiliate Organisations, created the global effort to educate the public about kidney cancer.

Measures to reduce the risk of kidney cancer

There is no established strategy to avoid kidney cancer; however, the following can aid in decreasing the risk of kidney cancer.

• Maintenance of healthy BMI
• Abstinence of alcohol and smoking
• Limited exposure to cadmium, batteries and welding materials
• Maintenance of normal blood pressure and glucose levels
• Avoid excessive usage of painkillers
• Consumption of a balanced diet with low fat

Department of Urology | Oncology