In January 2021, YCE’s Katie Rizvi spoke at the European Commission’s Beating Cancer Committee’s (BECA) public hearing, set up to aid MEPs draft their report on Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan, and live streamed from the European Parliament.

The consultation focused on patient rights, survivorship and quality of life, and more specifically on topics such as the Right To Be Forgotten and other priorities included in YCE’s White Paper.

Katie’s intervention, which zoomed in on cancer-related fertility impairment and mental health concluded with the following key points:

• The EU must put an end to the huge inequalities in access to sexual and reproductive healthcare for young people living with cancer across Europe, and include adoption rules within their right to be forgotten.
• Late effect surveillance and long-term follow-up should be an integral part of Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan. European guidelines must be translated into care at national level.
• Mental health support for cancer patients and their caregivers needs to be part of routine care and covered within health insurance programs.
• EU funding instruments need to be extended to the capacity building of patient organisations for EU cancer policy initiatives to become part of cancer patients’ reality.