ECPC is honored to be the only patient organization to have been invited at the Expert Conference on Oncology ‘’Modern Cancer Control: Saving Lives through Smart Solutions’’ organized by the Czech Presidency of the Council of the European Union on 13-14 July in Brno, Czech Republic. On this occasion, ECPC emphasized the need for cancer patients’ organizations being involved in the process of establishing Comprehensive Cancer Infrastructures (CCIs) at the EU level and the importance of patients being at the center of the digital momentum.
As a way to support joint efforts to tackle the cancer burden, in addition to reinforcing the EU ambitions and objectives in this sense, namely Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan and the EU Mission on Cancer, the event in Brno reunited oncology experts from different Member States, senior representatives of the European Commission and the World Health Organization, and
representatives of the cancer patient community. The aim of this high-level event was for the invited experts to share their knowledge and experience at the national level on key areas that need further policy developments.
The Conference focused on the following interconnected topics:
ECPC President, Francesco de Lorenzo and ECPC Senior EU Affairs Manager, Dr. Adela Maghear represented the organization as official delegates and brought their input to the expert conference. The outcome of this high-level meeting was a Call to Action that came to reaffirm the strong commitment of all official delegates on the EU fight against cancer.
ECPC has brought its’ valuable contribution to the final content of this Call to Action, in order to strengthen the need for a patient centric approach and the crucial role of patient organizations to accelerate progress and overcome obstacles in meeting the EU flagships initiatives.
ECPC’s contribution to the final document included the following key aspects:
ECPC President Francesco de Lorenzo discussed with the Czech Health Minister Vlastimil Válek, the Czech Deputy Minister of Health Jakub Dvoracek, the WHO Director of the Division of Health Programmes Nino Berdszuli, and the European Commission Team Leader of the Cancer Taskforce Matthias Schuppe the final content of the Call to Action that will serve as a background document for further discussion during the Informal Meeting of the Ministers of Health that will take place on 6-7 September 2022 in Prague.
ECPC stressed on the need to introduce tests for early detection of lung and prostate cancers as part of the national screening programmes and that patients’ preferences should be considered in the creation of the CCI network to be achieved by 2025.
ECPC will continue its advocacy efforts to ensure that our recommendations will be further considered in the final conclusions of the Czech Presidency.
About the European Cancer Patient Coalition
European Cancer Patient Coalition (ECPC) is the voice of cancer patients in Europe. With over 450 members, ECPC is Europe’s largest umbrella cancer patients’ association, covering all 27 EU member states and many other European and non-European countries. ECPC represents patients affected by all types of cancers, from the rarest to the most common.
Notes to editors:
For more information please contact: Evi Palaiologou, Partnerships and Communications Manager
paraskevi.palaiologou@ecpc.org [1]
Follow us on Twitter (@cancereu), Facebook (facebook.com/pg/ECPCfb), LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/european-cancer-patient-coalition/ [2]), Instagram (@ecpcoalition), and on our website on www.ecpc.org [3]
Links:
[1] mailto:paraskevi.palaiologou@ecpc.org
[2] https://www.linkedin.com/company/european-cancer-patient-coalition/
[3] http://www.ecpc.org/
[4] https://ecpc.org/news-events/ecpc-attends-the-expert-conference-on-oncology-czech-presidency-of-the-council-of-the-european-union-on-13-14-july-in-brno-czech-republic/