Task Force on ‘Access to Cancer Medicines’

Visolie

Accessible cancer medicines

Expensive advanced medical treatments and medicine are increasingly developed but do not always reach cancer patients. The Dutch Cancer Society (DCS) along with the European Cancer League (ECL) believes it is imperative that new treatments are accessible to all cancer patients. International cooperation is needed to make sure that all cancer patients get access to medicines they need. This is why the ECL created the Task Force on ‘Access to Cancer Medicines’ during the European Week against Cancer. Working together with all our international partners is key for a successful outcome.

Declaration of Intent

The DCS initiated the Task Force for accessible cancer medicines after extensive and successful work on this issue in the Netherlands. The kick-off to discuss the potential European/International coordination on this vital issue took place in Amsterdam, April 2016.  

You can watch a video summary of this meeting below.

The participants of this meeting formulated a declaration of intent. The declaration is fully endorsed by the ECL’s Executive Board. With this endorsement the ECL aims at reaching its strategic goal to ‘ensure equal access to treatment and support’.

Our ultimate goal is:

to achieve equal access to medicines for all cancer patients in Europe.”

Our objective is to:

"facilitate cooperation between ECL members on the topic of access to expensive cancer medicines: advocacy strategies, campaigning and information sharing."

Click here to read the Declaration of Intent (PDF, 512 kb)

Join the coalition

The next step is to get more ECL members on board; members who recognize this issue, who want to sign the declaration and who wish to cooperate in the Task Force. So far the following cancer society’s/leagues have supported the declaration of intent:

  •  The Belgian Foundation against Cancer
  •  ​The Danish Cancer Society 
  • ​The Cancer Society of Finland 
  •  ​Stand up to Cancer, Flanders ​
  •  ​The French League against Cancer 
  • ​ The Irish Cancer Society 
  • ​ Cancer Foundation, Luxembourg  
  • ​ The Dutch Cancer Society 
  • ​ Cancer Focus Northern Ireland 
  • ​ The League against Cancer Slovakia 
  • ​ ​Deutsche Krebsgesellschaft 
  • ​ Swiss Cancer League  
  • ​The Portuguese Cancer League
  • ​Federació Catalana Entitats contra el càncer (FECEC) 

Want to join the coalition and sign the Declaration of Intent? Click here to sign the Declaration of Intent