The fight against breast cancer in the EU

Representatives of EUROPA DONNA, the European Breast Cancer Coalition, held an information event on 18-21 May to give Members of the European Parliament 10 good reasons to sign the Written Declaration on the Fight Against Breast Cancer in the EU before 27 July 2015. EPF fully supports this Declaration and encourages all MEPs and allies to sign it!

Breast cancer is the disease that kills the more European women aged 35 to 59. “MEPs need to sign this Declaration because the more than 367,090 women diagnosed with breast cancer in the European Union every year deserve an equal chance of becoming breast cancer survivors. They do not deserve to become one of the more than 91,000 women who die of breast cancer in the EU each year,” said Susan Knox, Executive Director of EUROPA DONNA.

The European Parliament passed resolutions on breast cancer in 2003 and 2006 and a written declaration confirming these in 2010. This 2015 Declaration aims to ensure that these are implemented fully in all regions to guarantee that all women receive quality breast services in all European countries.

The 2006 Resolution on Breast Cancer called for instance all member states to implement Specialist breast units (SBUs) by 2016. Such units are essential to improving care and increasing survival for women after a breast cancer diagnosis. That deadline is fast approaching and many EU countries have not yet complied.  Women who have been treated in an SBU receive a better standard of care overall and their chance of survival is increased.