Françoise Meunier on the financial discrimination faced by 20 million cancer survivors across Europe

Françoise Meunier shared a post on LinkedIn:

“A new study published today in The Lancet Oncology highlights that many of the current 20 million cancer survivors across Europe are being discriminated against in accessing financial services, including loans, mortgages, health and travel insurance.

Mark Lawler, Grazia Scocca and I authored the article.

The work indicated that on average, up to 25% of those living beyond their cancer may be having more difficulty accessing appropriate financial services.

Professor Mark Lawler, Professor of Digital Health at Queen’s University Belfast explains:

‘Our evidence of financial toxicity for cancer survivors is undeniable. It is disgraceful that significant numbers of cancer survivors across Europe continue to be discriminated against financially.’

‘While the current cost of living crisis is hard for everyone, it is so much worse for cancer survivors. We need to bring in legislation to protect our patients who are living beyond their cancer as a matter of urgency.’

A European-wide effort is currently attempting to fight this discrimination, by supporting the introduction of legislation that will permit successfully treated cancer patients to not declare a previously diagnosed cancer, so that their diagnosis is essentially ‘forgotten.’

In January 2016, France became the first country in the world to introduce the ‘Right To Be Forgotten’,  specifying that long-term cancer survivors do not have to share medical information with a financial institution about their cancer diagnosis after a delay of five years without recurrence.

Seven other European countries have since taken similar legal measures to counter financial discrimination against cancer survivors.

Other European Member States have chosen to implement self-regulatory codes of conduct (Denmark, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Luxembourg), but these are not legally binding.

With over eight years of experience, evidence from France indicates no significant negative impact on insurance companies operating in the French jurisdiction.

Those who are living beyond their disease should not be penalised for a previous cancer diagnosis. Cancer patients across Europe who have been successfully treated should, by law, be able to avoid disclosing a previous diagnosis of cancer, so that they can access the financial services that they need.

Professor Lawler added:

‘This is not about compassion; this is about evidence and acting on that evidence.

When a cancer professional says that you are cured and international benchmarking agrees, then why do the financial institutions say that you are not?

Don’t make cancer patients pay twice. Ensure the Right To Be Forgotten is enshrined in law throughout Europe.’

Read the full study here.”

Source: Françoise Meunier/LinkedIn

Françoise Meunier is a member of the science policy committee at the European Academy of Cancer Sciences. Prof. Meunier served as Director-General of the European organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (1991-2015). 

Prof. Meunier was awarded the Belgian Laureate Prix Femmes d’Europe 2004-2005, conferred the title of Baroness by His Majesty, King Albert II of Belgium in 2007, received the Pezcoller Foundation award in 2009, became a Fellow of the European Academy of Cancer Sciences in 2011. She was appointed Chair of Accreditation Council of Oncology in Europe and Member of Alliance for Biomedical Research in Europe in 2015, and has been a member of the Belgian Royal Academy of Medicine since 2006.