Dégi László Csaba: Time To Expand Our Communications
Dégi László Csaba, President-Elect at the
“FROM ECO’S PRESIDENT: TIME TO EXPAND OUR COMMUNICATIONS
These monthly editorials are not something I take for granted. Indeed, it is a treasured opportunity; a way for me to connect with you and with our rapidly expanding cancer community throughout Europe.
At ECO, however, I believe we can do more—we must do more—to communicate clearly, directly, and effectively to an ever-broader audience that includes everyone impacted by cancer: patients, survivors, and the professionals who care for them.
ECO has enjoyed different periods of growth over the years. We understand what it means to foster hope and drive action. We’ve proven to be a transformative society, but to have this kind of influence we must constantly break down silos, and communication plays a vital role.
Together, we must ensure ECO is more than an echo chamber for politicians in Brussels or policymakers in European capitals who meet in the same places, using the same references, and re-hashing the same experiences. The cancer community in Europe is so much bigger.
We need to expand our outreach with communication that enables us to escape that perpetual echo chamber. This requires adding more perspective, more diversity, and more voices to our messaging and within our community. We have started this journey, but we have much more to do.
Europe is home to more than 20 million cancer survivors. And hundreds of thousands of people receive a diagnosis every year.
Communicating with this audience is not only an opportunity, it is an obligation—communicating in a supportive and empathetic way that reflects the physical and emotional challenges they face each day.
They want their stories and perspectives to be a greater part of ECO’s outreach, and rightly so. Personally, I see every cancer story like a thread in a large tapestry that we are weaving together.
I don’t think anything is possible without appreciating the personal stories of people who have cancer. But I would say that cancer professionals often need the same empowerment and the same support that we try to give patients, and they should be very much a focus of our communication.
The current workforce crisis in cancer care should be a wake-up call for us all. The mental health of this selfless, dedicated group of men and women is deteriorating rapidly. Many people are leaving their professions because it has become too much.
I think it is imperative: We need to grow and rekindle a broader community, and we should use all the communication means possible. Otherwise, we remain trapped in a bubble, and that’s counter to our mission and vision.
If we are not communicating more broadly and effectively we are missing an opportunity and doing a disservice to our mission of ensuring quality cancer care that is comprehensive and inclusive for all. We should employ whatever outreach is needed to achieve this end.”
Read further.
Source: Dégi László Csaba/LinkedIn