European Cancer Summit 2023 Session: Cancer Services in Crisis Situations

Watch the session recording here and read the full European Cancer Summit 2023 Report to discover the rich and diverse discussions of this session.

Initiatives

Time To Act Campaign: Don't let Covid-19 Stop you from Tackling Cancer

The impact of Covid-19 on cancer care has been significant. At the height of the pandemic in Europe, more than 100 million screening tests were not performed, and an estimated 1 million cancer cases went undiagnosed.

This multilingual campaign, organised by ECO’s Special Network on the Impact of Covid-19 on Cancer, raises public awareness on the pandemic’s staggering and continuing disruption of cancer care.

Find out more here.

Data Navigator - New Functionalities and More Tumour Types

The "Time To Act Data" Navigator tracks and highlights the disruption to cancer care caused by Covid-19 across Europe.

The tool makes it clear that:

• we need to build back more resilient cancer care systems
• we need collect and analyse more data to have a clear picture of how our healthcare systems are doing.

We encourage you to use the “Time To Act” Data Navigator and to join us in our efforts. Help raise awareness of the challenges and gaps in cancer care at the European and country levels. We are united in our efforts to ensure better cancer care, restoring the confidence of European citizens and cancer patients in healthcare post-Covid-19. Together, we can make this happen!

This multilingual Toolkit comes to you with a range of materials – from infographics for social media posts to quote templates – designed to raise awareness.

A 7-Point Plan to Address the Urgency and Build Back Better

The Special Network has published a landmark report combining its key recommendations: The Impact of Covid-19 on Cancer in Europe: ​The 7-Point Plan to Address the Urgency and ​Build Back Better. Compiled in consultation with the European Cancer Organisation’s community, especially members of this Network, it calls on European policymakers to take concrete actions to:

1. Urgently address the cancer backlog
2. Restore public confidence in cancer health services
3. Tackle shortages of medicines and equipment
4. Address cancer workforce gaps across Europe
5. Employ innovative solutions to strengthen cancer systems
6. Embed and share cancer data intelligence to enhance policy delivery
7. Secure greater cooperation among European health systems

Cancer must not become the Forgotten “C” in the Fight against Covid-19

Background

The Covid-19 pandemic has had a dramatic impact on all areas of cancer control, including prevention and vaccination, screening and early detection services, provision of all modalities of cancer treatment and care, including follow-up care for cancer survivors, and the conduct of cancer research and clinical trials. Such a challenge can only be addressed through collaboration of the entire cancer community. This led the Board of the European Cancer Organisation to launch a Special Network on the Impact of Covid-19 on Cancer, co-chaired by Board members Mirjam Crul and Mark Lawler. 

The Special Network brings together a wide range of stakeholders, from our Member Societies, Patient Advisory Committee and Community 365, to:

• Delineate the challenges posed by Covid-19 on cancer care
• Amplify ECO activities to address these challenges
• Produce recommendations on the most critical and pressing issues

To learn more or to support our work, please contact us This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..