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FACE Champions
The Forum Against Cancer Europe is an initiative of the European Cancer Patient Coalition
Join FACEPlease join us in the action and in the fight against cancer. Please contact FACE via [email protected] if you are interested to learn more about FACE or to join FACE.
FACE Websitehttp://www.forumagainstcancer.eu
About ECPCEstablished in 2003, The European Cancer Patient Coalition (ECPC) is the voice of the European cancer patient community, uniquely representing the interests of all cancer patient groups from the major to the rarer cancers. It has been established to represent the views of cancer patients in the European healthcare debate and to provide a forum for European cancer patients to exchange information and share best practice experiences. ECPC represents over 300 patients’ organizations across Europe. ECPC is run and governed by patients. During the last legislative period, ECPC has provided the MEPs with a platform to discuss issues of relevance and to communicate to their constituents.
How to contact FACE
ECPC Brussels OfficeDenis Horgan - ECPC Political Affairs ManagerRue de la Loi, 26, 1040 Brussels, Belgium Tel: + 32 2 8888943 E-Mail: [email protected]
ECPC Head OfficeJan Geissler - ECPC DirectorAm Rothenanger 1b, 85521 Riemerling, Germany Tel: + 49 89 62836807 Fax: + 49 89 62836808E-mail: [email protected]
The Forum Against Cancer (FACE) is an initiative of the European Cancer Patient Coalition (ECPC)
ECPC is registered as a non-profit association in The Netherlands, Reg.-Nr. 30211815
THE FOrum AgAinsT CAnCEr EurOPE
sHOW YOur FACE AgAinsT CAnCEr:mAking CAnCEr An Eu PriOriTY
Elena Oana Antonescu
Liam Aylward Elena Basescu Thijs Berman Piotr Borys
Anja Weisgerber Marina Yan-nakoudakis
Theodoros Skylakakis
Bart Staes Thomas Ulmer Peter van Dalen Lambert van Nistelrooij
Justas Vincas Paleckis
Antonyia Parvanova
Aldo Patriciello Pavel Poc Anna Rosbach
Sean Kelly Corinne Lepage Kartika Tamara Liotard
Marisa Matias Linda McAvan
Gay Mitchell Radvilė Morkūnaitė-Mikulėnienė
Ria Oomen-Ruijten
Miroslav Ouzký Rolandas Paksas
António Fernando Correia de Campos
Esther de Lange Leonidas Donskis Jill Evans Richard Falbr
Christofer Fjellner Pat the Cope Gallagher
Małgorzata Handzlik
Satu Hassi Alan Kelly
Frieda Brepoels Cristian Silviu Buşoi
Milan Cabrnoch Jorgo Chatzi-markakis
Nessa Childers
Derk Jan Eppink Kathleen van Brempt
Algirdas Saudargas
FACE six guiding priorities for the legislative period 2009-2014: • Making cancer a priority for action on the European
health policy agenda
• Effectingchange in legislative or regulatory policies to help optimize cancer prevention, detection, treatment and care throughout Europe.
• EnsuringthatallcancerpatientsintheEUhaveaccess to timely and appropriate information about prevention, screening, early intervention, on-going clinical trials and best quality treatment and care.
• Empoweringcancerpatientstotakeanactive role in shaping European and national policy that impacts on cancer prevention, treatment and care
• Ensuringthatbest cancer practice is shared across the EUandgapswithinandbetweenMemberStatesareeradicated.
• Fosteringco-operation between the cancer patients’ organisations within Europe and to develop a common policy
About the Forum Against Cancer Europe (FACE)Cancer affects us all. Did you know that one in three Europeans will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime? With hardly any family spared from cancer, it is vital that the battle against cancer is a political priority at the European level – and again a priority for the European Parliament.
Formorethan20years,cancerpatientshaveworkedsuccessfullywith European Parliamentarians to learn about, debate and form policies geared towards cancer patients in a cross-sectoral and cross-party manner, makinguseofoutsideexpertiseandparticipationofstakeholders.TheForumAgainstCancerEurope(FACE)willbethecontinuanceofthiswork.
The work of The Forum Against Cancer will consist of monitoringtheworkoftheEuropeanUnion;•monitoring the situation of various legislation that passes •throughtheEUthatwilleffectcancerpatientsintheEUMemberStatesandliaising with civil society groups to relay their concerns at the •European level.
The concept behind FACE is to provide the human face of cancer through the voice of the cancer patients, to address many important issues in the EU that concern cancer, and present thefaces(e.g.MEPsandEUCommission)thatwilltakealeadonthese topics. A number of MEPs are committed to follow one or more issues for the term of their legislature, for example on cancer research, cross border health care, rare cancers, clinical trials, palliative care etc.
Europe has been aware of the problems for cancer patients for more than a decade. But it needs political will. It is vital that strong MEPs continue their efforts to raise cancer and stimulate dialogues and actions between all parties.
FACE is an initiative of ECPCThe “Forum Against Cancer Europe” is an initiative by the European Cancer Patient Coalition (ECPC). ECPC is representing more than 300 cancer patient groups across 42 countries.
What mEPs can doMEPs can support cancer patients by supporting the Forum Against Cancer Europe and by:
sending a strong political signal that immediate and •concerted action is needed to reduce cancer rates by prevention and screening, and improve cancer outcomes.harnessing Community policies and instruments such •as the Public Health Programmes and the Framework Research Programmes to the fight against cancer.ensuring that best practice is shared• acrosstheEUandgaps that exist in cancer prevention, diagnosis, treatment andcarebetweenandwithinMemberStatesareeradicated.
Please join us in our fight against cancer!
Focus areas of FACEFACE currently concentrates on the following issues connected to cancer patients:
• CancerResearchCancer research is essential to uncover new approaches to clinical and public-health intervention. Cancer research should aim to identify the causes of cancer and to develop better strategies for prevention, diagnosis, treatment and cure.
• HealthInequalitiesThere is good evidence that significant European variability exists both in delivery of services and outcomes of care at each stage of the patient pathway, from information provision through to palliative care.
• ClinicalTrialsDirectiveClinicalTrialshavebeenakeyfactorinimprovingcancersurvivaland advancement in treatment. However, the Directive and their national implementations have slowed the opening of trials, without a large improvement in patient safety, which already had agoodtrackrecordintrialsinoncology,oradesiredaccelerationor harmonization of pan-European cancer research.
• InformationtoPatientsWhilst the political debate around “information to patients” and “advertising” has been going on for years, European patients continuetosufferfromthelackofaccesstoqualityinformationwhile the bait of miracle healers and door-to-door advertisers isstillthere.ThecurrentpoliticalmomentumintheEUon“Information to Patients” is timely and welcome.
• RareCancersSpecialchallengesofrarecancersaree.g.thelackoflocalmedical expertise, late diagnoses and poor referral rates, not enoughinterestinresearch,notenoughclinicaltrials,orthelackof funding and public attention for rare cancers.
• PalliativeCareWiththewell-knowndemographicchangeswhicharetakingplaceintheEU,palliativecarewillbeofincreasedimportancein providing care for the ageing population. Raised to the policy level, this translates to a need to efficiently use resources (both human and financial) to guarantee the best possible quality of care.
• YouthandCancerSincecancerismostlyappearinginthethirdquartileoflife,cancer advocacy is often focused on that population, disregarding that healthy lifestyle and early prevention might save young Europeans from getting cancer. A clear health awareness message has to be sent to the European youth.
