Roadmap Consultation EU Cancer Plan
EuroHealthNet responded to the Roadmap on the EU Consultation on the EU Cancer Plan. We welcome the European Commission’s prioritisation of, and plans to implement, Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan. To be successful, however, ambitious commitment must be to urgently address the large scale of social and economic inequalities in cancer-related health outcomes and in population-wide opportunities for prevention.
Disadvantaged groups in all EU countries and in different regions in Europe are at a higher risk from most of the “common” cancers due to a combination of higher exposure to risk factors, poorer access to cancer preventive measures and health services in general, and less capacity to deal with the social, employment, and financial consequences of the disease. Further disparities may occur in terms of informal care and peer-support required, return to work arrangements or need for long-term care.
