Today, the European Cancer Patient Coalition has asked for reassurance from the European Commission that the discontinuation of the Expert Group on Cancer Control, announced late last year, will not negatively affect the patient’s voice and the importance that the cancer policy debate currently has in the European Union health policy.
In a letter sent to Martin Seychell, Deputy Director General of Directorate General for Health & Food Safety, the ECPC has expressed concerns that the Commission’s decision to disband the Expert Group on Cancer Control is equal to dismantling of European expertise which took years and considerable resources to build.
The European Cancer Patient Coalition advocates for patients to be acknowledge as equal partners in policy-making, and our President Francesco de Lorenzo, said in a letter that “multi-stakeholder groups such as the European Commission’s Expert Group on Cancer Control are of paramount importance to convey challenges, but also opportunities, derived from real-life experiences of cancer patients themselves.”
In this context and in agreement with EUROPA DONNA – the European Breast Cancer Coalition and EUROPA UOMO – the European Prostate Cancer Coalition, we would like to ask the European Commission to describe in detail, how the current Expert Group on Cancer Control will be streamlined under the Steering Group and how the civil society will be able to actively be informed and contribute to cancer policy design and planning.
Download full letter by clicking here