A five-day programme bringing advocacy skills to prostate cancer patients around Europe
The Europa Uomo Summer School is a one-week training programme to help Europa Uomo members become expert patient advocates. The sessions will be run by a high-level panel of prostate cancer experts in the field, and experienced patient advocates. Many of these specialists are members of the European Association of Urology (EAU) Guidelines panel on the treatment of prostate cancer.
The event is being held in Brussels, Belgium on 1st-6th September 2024.
Summer School content
The Summer School will cover:
The basic science of cancer
The course will provide a foundation of basic medical science, providing updates and insights into how cancer comes about and grows into a problem. It will explain PSA measurement, and how different types of imaging, such as MRI and PSMA-PET-CT, work.
Prostate cancer treatment
The course will chart a path from newly diagnosed prostate cancer to bone metastasis, examining optional treatments according to evidence and EAU guidelines. There will be an emphasis on using the evidence to stimulate thinking about options and consequences. Any treatment option, and any question, can be discussed with the experts on hand.
Clinical trials and medical devices
There can be no new medicine, no new medical device, no new imaging software, without sound evidence from well-designed clinical trials. The course will make trials understandable to patients. Using prostate cancer as an example, experts will explain how clinical trials are designed. They will explain “PICO” and basic statistics, provide examples of outcome types, and demonstrate how to read graphs and trial results.
European and member state regulations and laws
Most health care issues in the EU, such reimbursement, lie in the hands of the member states. But almost all market approvals for medicines are based on central advice from the European Medicines Agency (EMA). The course will provide a virtual visit to the EMA, following the path of an innovative cancer medicine to market authorisation. It will explain medical device regulations governing PSA measuring systems and scanning equipment, and the necessity of health technology assessment (HTA). Participants will sit at a virtual table conducting an HTA negotiation.
Living with prostate cancer
There are also important issues to discuss on living with prostate cancer. The course will explore onco-psychology and sexology. It will explain the challenges of peer-to-peer support, what to do and what not to do. It will also address the importance of privacy in person-to-person contacts and in patient organisations. Attendees will also hear about the GDPR legal framework in Europe.
Alongside the high-level programme, there will also be time to relax. Quality of life is important for prostate cancer patients.
Practicalities
Venue: NH Hotel Bloom, Brussels, Belgium
Arrival: Sunday 1st September 2024
Training: Morning of Monday 2nd September to noon on Friday 6th September
Farewell lunch: Friday 6th September
Certificates of attendance will be awarded.
Participants depart/have afternoon free on Friday afternoon.
Who can attend?
Each Europa Uomo member organisation can send one representative free of charge. They must be able to participate actively to the training, which requires a working knowledge of English. They must be prostate cancer patients active in their own national organisation.
Participants are proposed by their national organisation but need to be accepted by Europa Uomo’s summer school management.
Board members of Europa Uomo will participate alongside participants selected by member organisations.
The cost of the summer school will be met by Europa Uomo and includes travel (reasonable expenses) and hotel from Sunday to Friday. Personal extras need to be paid by the participants themselves.
Because the Summer School is intensive and run to a tight schedule, we ask that participants do not come with partners. Partners may join participants after 2.30pm on Friday 6th September for a weekend in Brussels. Participants will need to make their own hotel and travel arrangements for their partner.
Find out more
More information about the content of the course is available in the downloadable preliminary programme.
Register
Go to the Summer School registration page.