Penilla Gunther: Reducing Inequities in Cancer Care Demands Collaboration

The inaugural issue of OncoDaily Magazine had the privilege to feature an exclusive editorial by Dr. Penilla Gunther, the founder of FOKUS Patient, where she talked about health-benefit systems, inequalities in cancer care and the HBP’s survey conducted by the World Health Organization.

“I think we can agree that we have never had so many opportunities in history to treat and cure cancer as now. Even so, according to IARC – the International Agency for Research on Cancer at WHO, in the latest statistics from 2022, IARC estimated 20 million new cancer cases and 9.7 million deaths worldwide.

Although cancer mortality rates continue to decline, there are signs of big needs in early detection by access to screening and treatments. Any serious illness benefits from being detected as early as possible, but the risk of dying due to late diagnosis and inadequate access to quality treatment for cancer is very high for many people in the world.

The inequity in cancer care within countries and between countries is striking. It might seem understandable sometimes that lower income countries do not have the financial situation to cover even the most vulnerable people with basic health care, and therefore cannot provide more advanced cancer care. But not all countries have those problems.

Of course, the health-benefit systems also play a big role in how the citizens get access to health care and cancer care with screening, treatments, and palliative care and survivorship.

WHO – World Health Organization’s global survey of HBP’s (health-benefit packages) 2024, shows that “the inclusion of priority cancer services essential to cancer care is insufficient, particularly in the light of the current size and projected increase in the cancer burden.

The results show that the minimum package for effective cancer management was included in only 39% of the countries HBPs, a proportion that dropped to 28% when palliative-care services were also considered”.

The report continues to say that “this highlights the needs to raise awareness about the challenges related to providing cancer care and the resources needed to address them”. I am happy that the European Commission took the important decision some years ago to create and implement a cancer plan for the European Union with the aim of reducing inequities.

The four main goals and working areas of the Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan; understanding, prevention, diagnostics and treatments, and quality of life, are all important to secure a good patient journey.

But the Cancer Plan alone, would probably not get the effects wanted without financing through the Horizon program. Good intentions can not replace the reality of a need for economical sustainability to projects when changes are made.

The need of collaboration to establish Comprehensive Cancer Centers for advanced cancer care, development of new methods, health data, HTA or research – or to be able to organize cross-over meetings with HCP organizations, industry, patient organizations, authorities, academia, policy makers etc have been and will continue to be crucial to make an impact.

I know that the United States has its Cancer Moonshot since 2016, that also has brought together a large community of patients, advocates, researchers, and clinicians who are dedicated to advancing research to improve the lives of people with cancer, those at risk, and their families. These kind of plans and programs make positive changes.

With an eye on the report mentioned above from the WHO, we also need to see to the fact that policy makers almost all over the world must face an ageing population, fewer children are born, lack of HCPs, and people will live longer with chronic diseases. How will they manage to create or maintain a healthcare system with less tax revenues or with people with less income?

My belief is that independent of the financial resources in each country, we need to collaborate more over the country and organizational borders for a continuous exchange of knowledge and information.

The first goal in EU’s Cancer Plan called Understanding, is something we all need to take responsibility for with sharing facts about cancer, the importance of screening and healthy living, and encourage people to take part in clinical trials.

Researchers and academia can give us more information and understanding about the reasons for cancer and development on cancer drugs.

We can probably see, all of us, that if countries do not prioritize cancer services and seek for international financial opportunities if they have the need, their citizens will get more untreatable diagnosis with deaths as the result which will have a huge impact on society and public finances.

To reduce inequities in cancer care demands awareness and not the least, a willingness to see results. Understanding that, is the first step.”

Penilla Gunther
Former Member of Parliament, Sweden
Member of the Cancer Mission Board, The European Commission

Who is Penilla Gunther?

Penilla Gunther is a distinguished figure in European healthcare and life sciences, renowned for her multifaceted contributions. With a career spanning various influential roles, she has left an indelible mark on policy, patient advocacy, and industry collaboration.

Penilla Gunther is a member of the EU Cancer Mission and a Former Member of the Swedish Parliament. She is a former Member of the Swedish Parliament, the Nordic Council, and chair of the Welfare Committee.

She is the founder of FOKUS Patient, a digital and physical meeting place for life science and healthcare with a patient perspective, President of the European Patient Safety Foundation, and appointed by the European Commission as an Expert in the Cancer Mission Board.

Throughout her career, Gunther has been a sought-after speaker, moderator, and panelist at prestigious events across Europe. She has collaborated with leading industry players, moderated discussions at renowned forums like the European Health Forum Gastein, and facilitated training sessions on policy and political processes.

Penilla Gunther is a lifelong patient who had a heart transplant 15 years ago and is a cancer survivor twice. She co-chaired the European Cancer Organization’s SmartCARE steering committee, a landmark initiative of Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan under the EU4Health Programme.

Penilla Gunther was also named one of the 100 Influential Women in Oncology: Key Opinion Leaders to follow on Social Media in 2023 by OncoDaily.