By Ochieng' Ogodo
Journalist-Kenya
[NAIROBI] A new European association for lung
cancer patients has been formed. Lung Cancer Europe (LuCE) was
established on 27 September to bring about improvements in lung cancer outcomes for all European
patients and to help improve the quality of life for the many thousands of
patients and survivors living with lung cancer in Europe
today.
For the first time lung cancer
patients, survivors and their families will have a voice at a European level
which will enable them to influence policy decisions that impact on European
lung cancer outcomes. This is critically important because there are
significant problems with lung cancer outcomes across Europe. Lung cancer
accounts for one fifth of all cancer deaths in Europe today. It is the
commonest cause of death from cancer in European men and is the third most
common cause of death in women. Nearly every minute a European citizen is told
that they have lung cancer and every hour 40 Europeans die of this terrible
disease. Moreover, there is evidence
to show worrying inequalities in lung cancer control between EU Member States
with data showing that the lung cancer mortality rate in men is over three times
as high in the worst performing Member State as compared with the best.
LuCE has a mission to improve lung cancer outcomes and
address the unacceptable inequities in lung cancer survival across Europe.
“With LuCE we want to create a European platform that gives a
strong voice to lung cancer patient organisations in Europe – and we want to
support the establishment of national patient groups in countries, where such
groups do not yet exist. We wish to raise awareness about inequities regarding
the access to lung cancer treatment and care in Europe. And we will work for
improving European policies and increasing funding allocated to lung cancer
research. Last but not least, we hope that the association can
help to reduce the stigmatisation of lung cancer patients," Mogens Ekelund,
representative of the LuCE Steering Committee explains.
LuCE is a non-profit
association that has been established with support from the European Thoracic
Oncology Platform and the European School of Oncology.
