A group of members of the European Parliament is promoting a manifesto “to improve services for patients in an area of still high unmet need and reduce the societal impact of breast cancer by elevating it as a health policy priority to improve breast cancer prevention, diagnosis and care across Europe”, according to a press release.
“For any incoming MEP or Commissioner, tackling breast cancer should be a top priority. We are still seeing major inequalities across the individual EU member states in breast cancer diagnosis and care, which result in some countries having much lower survival rates than others” Dr. Fatima Cardoso, Director of the Breast Unit of the Champalimaud Clinical Center in Lisbon and member of the Transforming Breast Cancer Together Initiative said.
The key recommendations of the “European Elections Manifesto 2019: Seizing the Opportunities for Breast Cancer Patients”, are:
- Ensuring breast cancer is screened, diagnosed and treated at an early stage and that all breast cancer patients have access to treatment in a breast unit by a specialized multidisciplinary team.
- Ensuring return to work programmes for breast cancer patients and survivors.
- Maintaining a favourable environment for the collection of breast cancer data and the development of innovative health technologies.
The initiative is promoted by MEPs Lieve Wierinck (Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe – ALDE), Elena Gentile (Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats – S&D) and Cristian-Silviu Bușoi (European People’s Party – EPP), with Advanced Breast Cancer (ABC) Global Alliance, European Society of Surgical Oncology, Europa Donna – The European Breast Cancer Coalition, European Cancer Patient Coalition, European School of Oncology, European Society of Breast Cancer Specialists, Working With Cancer and the support of several pharmaceutical companies.
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