On 11th January and 28th January 2021, ECPC Board Member Kathi Apostolidis, and ECPC Scientific Committee Members Prof Françoise Meunier and Prof Mark Lawler participated in the Special Committee on Beating Cancer hearings in which ECPC advocated for the the need of patients and caregivers to be empowered as well as the need for equal access to cancer medicines and treatments and the reduction of the social disparities that a cancer experience brings with it.

During the first hearing “Beating cancer – empowering patients and their caregivers” Prof Françoise Meunier, who is working with ECPC on the Right to be Forgotten legal initiative and its implementation in Europe, stressed the encouraging achievements which “allow cancer survivors to contract life insurances or other financial instruments such as mortgages and loans, and launch new professional projects without fear of their cancer being used against them”.

During the latter meeting, Kathi Apostolidis and Prof. Mark Lawler had the chance to participate in the panel on social determinants  related to living with and to reintegrating social life after a cancer experience : “Mind the gap: For equal access to cancer medicines and treatments”.

ECPC’s main goal is to fight both inequalities in access to cancer and to reduce the social disparities in cancer in Europe. Kathi Apostolidis highlighted that ‘in most EU member states, but also within different regions of the same country, inequalities in access are also accompanied by social inequalities that are reflected in cancer incidence and survival’. Due to technical problems, she was not able to finalise her speech, therefore please find her presentation here.

On his part, Prof Mark Lawler focused on the need to ‘collect and deploy intelligence on cancer control and research activities, illuminating the path to take that is best for our citizens and patients’. ‘Delivering research-enabled cancer care to ensure best outcomes for cancer patients’ is also essential, he argued. A link to Prof Lawler’s presentation is here.

Prof Françoise Meunier, Kathi Apostolidis and Prof. Mark Lawler were thanked for their contributions.

To watch the full video of Prof Meunier contribution, please click here.

The recording of the public hearing that took place on the 28th  January 2021 is available here.