We are pleased to announce the completion of the Cancer United Campaign. The Campaign was launched in October 2006 with two major objectives:
Originally proposed as a two-year plan we are able to close at the end of 2007 having achieved our primary goals.
We have successfully promoted national and international discussion on the need to prioritise cancer care using the vehicle of national cancer plans, and worked with colleagues in many of the member states. We had originally intended to gather 1 million signatures as a tool for putting pressure on the EU but developments during the past 12 months have rendered this much less relevant, particularly the proposal by Antonio Trakatellis (MEP) and the endorsement of both the Portuguese and Slovenian EU presidencies to ensure that cancer is very clearly on the agenda. The recent publication of EUROCARE 4 (Lancet Oncology; Volume 8, Issue 9, 773-783, Sept 2007) also guarantees the ongoing debate.
We have commissioned research to analyse the current level of development and implementation of national cancer plans across several countries, and on health systems organisations as they relate to cancer in differing member states. The findings of this research will further inform the specific needs of different countries and the EU activities in cancer control.
With the continuing success of research but limited health budgets it is clear that making choices and setting priorities will always represent a major challenge. The Cancer United Campaign has made a definite, positive contribution to the debate on how to approach this.
We thank our sponsors Roche, Bayer Healthcare, Helsinn Healthcare and Myeloma UK for their unrestricted educational grants and all the very many people who have supported the Campaign during the past year.
If you have any queries about the Cancer United Campaign please contact Jean Mossman on jean.mossman@talk21.com