ECPC teams up with researchers, policy makers, charities to draft a plan of action for the European mission against cancer
ECPC has a central role in bringing the unmet needs of patients with cancer to the forefront of cancer policy, care and research. ECPC believes that innovation cannot emerge and grow without patient empowerment and active patient involvement and is fully committed to increasing patient education and contribution in cancer research, through its active participation in various European cancer research programs and educational resources.
ECPC has a major role in the mission on cancer, given its previous achievements in policy and research to help overcome the inequalities in cancer prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and survivorship care. The mission on cancer will be facilitated by active collaboration between patient organisations and scientists, clinicians, politicians and industry, with the aim of identifying important to patients research questions regarding patient involvement, survivorship care, health economics, personalized oncology, geriatric oncology, palliative care, quality of life and social issues for cancer patients of all ages among other.
The value of the paper is based on the accent put on cancer survivorship and quality of life. The inclusion of the consideration of the social and economic needs of cancer patients and families is as important as the treatment itself, to ensure that patients can return to relatively normal lives swiftly and smoothly.
Francesco de Lorenzo, ECPC Past President and Chair of Scientific Committee
To this purpose, ECPC has actively collaborated with the European Academy of Cancer Sciences-EACS within the last three years. EACS shares our position on cancer patients involvement, as shown in the Thematic Issue of March 1, 2019, of Molecular Oncology (read more here) regarding the Mission on cancer. The EACS platform has formulated recommendations, some of which have already been sent to the Cancer Mission Board and today publishes them in Molecular Oncology Journal under “Towards a cancer mission in Horizon Europe: recommendations”. The EACS platform has also established a committee on survivorship in which Francesco de Lorenzo, EACS board member, participates and together with ECPC President, Kathi Apostolidis support patient empowerment and the role of cancer patient organizations in the cancer mission within EACS.
We are honoured to invite you to read the new paper of the platform of the European Academy of Cancer Sciences “Towards a Cancer Mission in Horizon Europe: recommendations” published today in Molecular Oncology. Members of EACS among them, ECPC representatives, namely Kathi Apostolidis and Francesco de Lorenzo, have extensively participated in co-authoring the paper.
The European cancer patient community welcomes the recommendations proposed by the EACS platform as they illustrate how cancer patient organisations and patients can become the bridge linking cancer research to cancer care. They establish primarily the importance of strengthening patients’ empowerment and confirm the central role of patient organizations.
Kathi Apostolidis, ECPC President
Key European stakeholders of the cancer research-prevention-care continuum teamed up in EACS platform to provide specific recommendations to prioritize 13 research areas and offer suggestions as how to:
– strengthen patients´empowerment,
– improve specialist education,
– and decrease present inequalities in cancer research within the EU.
These recommendations aim to achieve in 2030 the goal of 10-year cancer-specific survival for 75% of the patients diagnosed in the EU Member states with a well-developed healthcare system.
You may find more information in the press release and download “Towards a Cancer Mission in Horizon Europe”.
You may also consult the following papers to learn more about ECPC involvement in cancer research, treatment and survivorship care:
“Cancer Core Europe: A translational research infrastructure for a European mission on cancer”
“Cancer survivorship: an integral part of Europe’s research agenda”