Europa Uomo signs joint letter offering support to governments

Europa Uomo has joined with more than 290 international, national and regional cancer organisations around the globe to offer support to governments in efforts to improve the situation for cancer patients globally in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In an open letter, the organisations point out that the pandemic has severely disrupted cancer detection and care services globally, with 2020 seeing a 40% drop in cancer diagnoses.

“We recognise that healthcare systems are under unprecedented pressure due to the COVID-19 pandemic and that the global crisis has not ended yet, but the data show us that we need to take action to actively address the issues in cancer care if we are to continue improving outcomes,” the organisations say.

To improve the situation for cancer patients, governments should:

• Ensure that patients can access diagnosis and treatment safely
• Identify the impact of the pandemic on cancer services and design services to mitigate this
• Resource cancer services properly and safely for the long term

Andre Deschamps, Chairman of Europa Uomo, said that urging such action was important for men prostate cancer.

“As prostate cancer is without symptoms in the early stages, the delay in cancer care due to Covid 19 will have a big negative impact on these patients. The real effect will only be seen in the figures over the next years.”