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Françoise Meunier: High-Level Conference on Ending Financial Discrimination Against Cancer Survivors

Photo taken from Françoise Meunier/LinkedIn

Feb 14, 2024, 13:26

Françoise Meunier: High-Level Conference on Ending Financial Discrimination Against Cancer Survivors

Françoise Meunier recently shared on LinkedIn:

“Why should cancer survivors be protected from financial discrimination? Why advocate for the ‘right to be forgotten’? These are some of the questions that we will raise on Thursday during the High-Level Conference on Ending Financial Discrimination Against Cancer Survivors that will take place on Thursday.

Cancer survivors have graciously accepted to share their stories to showcase how the discrimination they suffered from has affected their lives. From being unable to purchase a home or asked to pay high premiums, the fact that they suffered from cancer in the past has had a tangible impact on their ability to realize their aspirations.

To support the need to protect cancer survivors from financial discrimination, Françoise Tulkens, a former judge in the European Court of Human Rights, and Grazia Scocca, a legal expert, will discuss the legal background. Additionally, Davide Soldato (ESMO – European Society for Medical Oncology) will present data showcasing that in Europe, cancer mortality rates are low and that remission happens for most cancers a few years after the end of treatment.

If you wish to follow these promising discussions, there is still time to register for the conference. You will find all the information here.”

Source: Françoise Meunier/LinkedIn

Françoise Meunier dedicated her professional life to improving the survival and QoL of cancer patients. Prof. Meunier served as Director-General of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (1991-2015), where she remained active until 2018 as Director of Special Projects, being the driving force behind cancer survivorship activities. Since 2014, she has been pursuing activities on the Right to be Forgotten for cancer survivors, advocating for the creation of a harmonized legal framework to tackle discrimination against cancer survivors. Prior to joining the EORTC, Françoise Meunier was Head of the Infectious Diseases Department at Institute Jules Bordet. 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, joined the Scientific Committee of the Innovative Medicine Initiative of the European Union in 2012, received the ECCO Lifetime achievement award in 2013, awarded a Ben de Pauw Medal for her dedication to Medical Mycology in 2013, appointed council member of the Federation of European Academies of Medicine in 2014, 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.