In 2004, ECL published the European Guidelines for Cancer Patients Rights, a document (and poster) jointly written and adopted by our members to guide the regional, national and European policy-makers and health partners in their decision regarding cancer patients’ well-being across the EU.
Over 2.5 million Europeans are diagnosed with cancer every year. The ECL Guidelines list practical recommendations to improve the life of cancer patients throughout the treatment cycle, from detection and diagnosis to quality of care, social and psychological support, rehabilitation after treatment, or palliation.
In particular, ECL is calling for:
- Access to wider information sources, especially external sources
- A comprehensive approach to rehabilitation as an integrated part of the treatment
- Specific social protection for employees, such as appropriate sick leave, possibility of part-time jobs, or guarantees not to be dismissed
- Improved access to education, training and job opportunities
- Access to insurance and bank loans
- Integration of voluntary and charitable cancer organisations in quality of care, in psychological support and patients’ advocacy
