In 2012, three Europeans died from cancer every minute.

Cancer is the leading cause of premature death
in 28 of 53 European countries¹.

Significant disparities in cancer mortality
exist throughout Europe².

Cancer is growing at an alarming pace worldwide³.

IT IS TIME TO ACT

On the 4th February 2014, during the celebration of the World Cancer Day, ECPC and its partners convened to the European Parliament in Strasbourg to launch a pan-european plea to EU policymakers to take up the fight against cancer: the Call to Action.

The Call to Action takes its rationale from the European Cancer Patient Bill of Rights and it is its first and immediate action point.

ECPC invited current Members of the European Parliament and new candidates to publicly endorse the Call to Action, engaging themselves to fight cancer along with the principles set by the Call to Action.

The Call to Action

• To make cancer a priority on the political agenda and to address the disparities that cancer patients and families face every single day of their lives throughout Europe
• To address these unacceptable disparities through the establishment of an EU Cancer Plan which guarantees an improved standard of care for European cancer patients
• To uphold the right of European citizens to receive this improved standard of cancer care wherever they may live and irrespective of their income
• To engage proactively with the European Cancer Concord (ECC), an equal partnership involving patients, patient advocates, cancer research and healthcare leaders from across Europe
• To adopt the principles of the European Cancer Patient’s Bill of Rights, a charter for change in cancer care and research in Europe
• To strengthen a cross party MEPs against Cancer (M.A.C) alliance so that it qualifies to become an EU Parliament Intergroup to actively represent cancer-related issues
• To encourage the establishment of a European Cancer Survivorship Strategy, to address the needs of the more than 14 million European citizens living with cancer.

We call on:

• Prospective incoming Members of the European Parliament to place cancer firmly and transparently within their election mandate and to join the MEPs against Cancer (M.A.C) and support their M.A.C 2014 Election Manifesto 9
• The European Commission to:
  • Place cancer high on the political agenda,
  • Support research excellence in cancer and it’s translation for measurable benefits for European cancer patients
  • Present an EU Action Plan on Cancer according to Article 20 of the Council Conclusions on reducing the burden of cancer a

We emphasise the need for the European Parliament and the European Commission to both listen to and respond to the voice of European cancer patients.

We signal the need at Member State level for individual national cancer control plans to tackle the significant problems that cancer patients experience and emphasise our determination to actively engage at national level to achieve this aim.

Click here to download the Call to Action (pdf)

List of Call to Action Endorsers

Number of total new MEPs endorsing the Call to Action: 30

1) World Health Organisation Regional Office for Europe. (2013)

2) De Angelis R, Sant M, Coleman MP et al. Lancet Oncol (2014)

3) Boyle et al, State of Oncology, 2013 (http://www.i-pri.org/oncology2013/)