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Ladies and gentlemen,
I am delighted to join you at today’s Colorectal Cancer Screening Summit.
Let me begin by thanking Digestive Cancers Europe for gathering a community of experts to discuss the importance and practicalities of population based screening practices across Europe.
160,000 people die of colorectal cancer in the EU every year.
It is the third most diagnosed cancer in men – after prostate and lung cancers – and the second one in women, after breast cancer.
Colorectal cancer has a massive impact on the lives of patients and families across Europe.
However, many of these deaths and the consequences of this disease can be avoided with a healthy and active lifestyle, or through early detection.
So the potential to save lives and reduce suffering is immense. We need to work together to maximise that potential. And the EU is determined to play its part.
Through ambitious actions on prevention, early detection, diagnosis and treatment, and quality of life with Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan we are putting colorectal cancer under the spotlight.
Let me share some key examples.
One major initiative is the update of the Council Recommendation on cancer screening, on which work has already started and will be presented next year.
A call for evidence will be launched this year, giving Digestive Cancers Europe and other participants today the opportunity to share their perspective.
Your insight and expertise are vital, so I encourage you to continue sharing ideas on how to improve colorectal cancer screening.
As of 2020, 20 EU Member States had introduced in their National Cancer Control Plans population-based screening programmes for colorectal cancer.
But we can do better.
The new Council Recommendation on Screening will help Member States to set-up, better implement or improve their national programmes.
It will also help to address the substantial inequalities that exist within and between Member States in terms of efficient and effective screening.
And we will establish a Cancer Inequalities Register that will help to identify national and regional challenges and specific areas of action to guide investment and interventions.
Ladies and gentlemen,
COVID has intensified the challenges in access to colorectal cancer screening. It has added a new layer of risk, worry and stress for patients, and their families – as well as for oncologists and health professionals.
At the same time, those screening programmes that were well established recovered quicker than the others.
There is a lesson here when it comes to building resilience.
With Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan and financial support offered by the EU4Health programme and the Recovery and Resilient Facility, we stand ready to support Member States and stakeholders in moving towards sustainable health care systems.
However, success depends on genuine collaboration.
This is not a job that any of us can do alone.
Multi-stakeholder involvement and engagement is crucial.
I know that I can count on your contribution and support to offer that engagement.
