Rise in EU Breast Cancer Rates Must Be Tackled
October 24, 2006 3:32 PM
Sharon Bowles MEP
National governments are still not doing enough to halt the continued rise in European rates of Breast Cancer among Women and Men - that is the message from Sharon Bowles, Liberal Democrat MEP for the South East today as the European Parliament debates a cross party resolution outlining the priorities for breast cancer.
Commenting on the debate and the resolution Sharon Bowles said;
"The life time risk of developing Breast Cancer for women in the EU is 1 in 10 and despite progress, its incidence is only increasing. Member States and the European Commission must do more to halt the continued rise of this devastating disease.
"The European Commission must look to provide better information and data on incidences of breast cancer across the EU, whilst ensuring that money is put into cancer and chronic illness research through mechanisms like the FP7 programme.
"There is an urgent need to share best practice. Currently the differences in detection, treatment, care and treatment in the workplace between Member States vary far too much. It is possible for breast cancer to be identified and beaten at an early stage.
"I welcome the European Commission's new guidelines on breast cancer screening and diagnoses, now Member States must sign up to them and more importantly, implement them.
"The European Commission should develop a charter that can protect the rights of breast cancer patients, and all chronically ill people in the workplace, and encourage employers to make it possible for them to work during treatment and to reintegrate them into the labour market after treatment. Cancer victims who often suffer discrimination in the work place as a result of their illness must be given legal rights under EU disability legislation."
"In the future I hope that being diagnosed with cancer of any type will be classified as a disability, so that every citizen can benefit from EU legislation outlawing discrimination in the workplace on the basis of disability."
ENDS
Notes
The joint motion for resolution put to the European Parliament also calls on the European Commission to provide more detailed data on breast cancer incidence, early detection and treatment and to look at how information and best practice can be shared across the enlarged EU
The Lisbon strategy aims for a women's employment quota of 60% by 2010.
275 000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer annually in women in the European Union according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer
35% of new breast cancer cases are currently diagnosed in women younger than 55 years. 12% are even diagnosed in women under age 45.
Studies show that around one fifth of former cancer patients do not return to work.
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