In two years, the covid-19 pandemic has undermined the fight against cancer in Europe. This is why the European Commission is proposing a new initiative to strengthen prevention, detection and treatment. It recommends that Member States increase the number of screenings and open up the target groups more.
For the institution there is urgency. In 2020, six types of cancer including breast, cervical and colorectal cancer accounted for 51% of disease-related deaths in the European Union. To overcome the disease, the Commission proposes by 2025 the screening of 90 % of persons fulfilling the conditions for these examinations.
The European Commissioner for Health adds that the Union is ready to commit 100 million euros to better detect the disease.
“Screening programs are fundamental for this, because early diagnosis saves lives. And we are all working together for this. These are recommendations gathered from the latest scientific data”, insists Stella Kyriakides.
For patients, better screening and detection plans are long overdue as there are significant gaps between member countries.
“This is a very important objective because for lung cancer there have been many barriers for a long time. All countries have enormous delays in screening”, underlines Francesco De Lorenzo, president of the European Cancer Patient Coalition.
The Commission’s strategy wants expand targeted screening to other cancers, including prostate, lung and stomach.