Cancer Patients Europe - CPE

12/08/2026

📢 CPE is hiring!

We're looking for three new colleagues to help us amplify the patient voice across Europe:

💰 Project Finance Officer
Manage financial administration and reporting for our EU-funded projects.
➡️ Find full details about the vacancy here: https://lnkd.in/exkvjeVZ

📣 Communications Intern
Help us create content, manage our channels, and raise awareness on cancer patient priorities.
➡️ More details about the position are available here: https://lnkd.in/eCtRB-RN

🧪 Research and Patient Engagement Intern
Support our EU research projects and help bring the patient voice into research, from patient advisory boards to turning complex science into plain language.
➡️ Read more about the role here: https://lnkd.in/e7tQ8s-D

📍 Brussels, full-time
📅 Apply by 11 September 2026

Come make a difference with us! 💙

01/08/2026

🫁 1st of August marks World Lung Cancer Day.

Lung cancer remains one of the greatest cancer challenges in Europe. It is estimated to account for around 20% of all new cancer cases and 20% of all cancer deaths in the EU, making it both one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers and the leading cause of cancer-related mortality. Despite progress in prevention, diagnosis and treatment, too many people continue to face inequalities in access to timely care and innovative therapies.

At CPE, we are committed to ensuring that the voices and lived experiences of people affected by lung cancer help shape research, healthcare policies and cancer care across Europe.

This commitment also extends to research. As a partner in the IMAGIO_project project, CPE is helping advance more precise, minimally invasive and patient-centred approaches to cancer care. The project aims to improve survival outcomes for people living with lung cancer, liver cancer and sarcoma by supporting the development and validation of next-generation image-guided interventions.

We thank our member, the Española de Afectados de Cáncer de Pulmón and Stéphanie Oyonarte Da Rocha, AEACaP Board Member, or sharing today's message and for their continued advocacy on behalf of people living with lung cancer.

Together, we can ensure that every person affected by lung cancer has the opportunity not only to survive, but to live with dignity, hope and the best possible quality of life.

🔗 Learn more about Spanish Lung Cancer Association (AEACaP): https://afectadoscancerdepulmon.com/

🔗 Learn more about IMAGIO project: https://imagio-project.eu/

29/07/2026

💡July is Sarcoma Awareness Month.

Sarcomas are rare cancers, accounting for only 1-2% of all cancers, yet they represent a heterogeneous group of over 70 histological subtypes affecting bones and soft tissues. In Europe, crude incidence stands at 5.6 cases per 100,000 people per year, with an estimated 27,908 new cases diagnosed annually across the EU27 — 84% of which are soft tissue sarcomas and 14% bone sarcomas.

Their rarity and complexity often mean delayed or missed diagnosis, with patients frequently facing long journeys to specialised care. This is exactly why CPE proudly joined its member
Asociación de Sarcomas Grupo Asistencial's Manifiesto Contra el Sarcoma, calling for earlier diagnosis, equitable access to specialised reference centres, and stronger investment in research and innovative treatments for sarcoma patients.

As the manifesto reminds us: uniting around our shared goals is how we will achieve them faster, and better.

This month, we stand with sarcoma patients, survivors, and the organisations supporting them across Europe, including our partners at ASARGA, in raising awareness and continuing to advocate for a future where every sarcoma patient has access to the diagnosis and treatment they deserve.

🔗 Read the Manifiesto Contra el Sarcoma: https://www.asarga.es/manifiesto-contra-el-sarcoma/

28/07/2026

We are pleased to announce our collaboration with myTomorrows!

At CPE, we are committed to helping people affected by cancer access the information and support they need. Through our new collaboration with myTomorrows, we are launching a dedicated webpage designed to help patients, caregivers and healthcare professionals explore potential opportunities to participate in cancer clinical trials.

What this means for patients:

🔹 Explore whether a cancer clinical trial could be an option for them.

🔹 Receive personalised support from experienced patient navigators.

🔹 Discover and connect with relevant clinical trials sites if they are eligible.

The dedicated webpage on the myTomorrows website will provide information about the partnership, answer frequently asked questions, and make it easy to connect with a patient navigator for tailored support.

Together, we're working to empower patients with trusted information and help improve access to clinical research—because every patient deserves the opportunity to explore all available treatment options.

🔗 Book a free call with a patient navigator*: https://mytomorrows.com/patient-advocacy-groups/cancer-patients-europe/

* Booking a call is not a commitment to join a clinical trial

28/07/2026

🌎🟢 Today, on World Hepatitis Day, we are proud to stand with our member, European Liver Patients' Association, in raising awareness of viral hepatitis and its link to liver cancer.

Hepatitis B and C remain major risk factors for liver cancer, yet we already have effective tools to change this trajectory: vaccines, accurate diagnostics, curative treatments for hepatitis C, and long-term therapies for hepatitis B. The challenge now is ensuring that these solutions reach everyone who needs them.

At CPE, we believe that people affected by cancer must be at the centre of health policies and decisions. Strengthening access to testing, vaccination, treatment, and high-quality care is essential to reducing inequalities, preventing avoidable cancer cases, and improving outcomes for communities across Europe.

Protecting liver health is an important part of cancer prevention. By investing in innovation, equitable healthcare systems, and meaningful patient involvement, we can move closer to a future where fewer people face the impact of preventable liver disease and liver cancer.

🔗 Learn more about World Hepatitis Day: https://www.who.int/campaigns/world-hepatitis-day/2026

🇪🇺🇺🇳 World Hepatitis Day 2026 | Europe has the knowledge. Now Europe must act.

Every day, thousands of people across Europe live with hepatitis B, C and D without knowing it. Too many are diagnosed only after irreversible liver damage or liver cancer has already developed.

This is unacceptable because today we have the tools to change the story.

💙 Hepatitis B can be prevented through vaccination and controlled with effective treatment, while research is bringing us closer to a functional cure.

🧡 Hepatitis C is curable. We can become the first generation to eliminate it as a public health threat.

💜 Hepatitis D, the most severe form of viral hepatitis, now has treatment and hope for patients, but only if people are diagnosed in time.

Behind every statistic is a person, a family and a future that can still be protected.

Europe cannot achieve the goals of the European Cancer Plan, the future European Cardiovascular Health Plan, or the fight against chronic diseases without placing liver health at the centre of prevention.

✅ Invest in prevention.
✅ Expand testing.
✅ Ensure equitable access to treatment.
✅ Integrate hepatitis into cancer prevention strategies.
✅ Reach vulnerable and underserved communities.

Protecting liver health means protecting public health, reducing healthcare costs, preventing liver cancer, avoiding liver transplantation and saving hundreds of thousands of lives.

On World Hepatitis Day, ELPA calls on European institutions, national governments, healthcare professionals, patient organisations and every citizen to join one common mission:

Find the missing millions. Prevent liver cancer. Eliminate hepatitis.

Because Europe has the science.
Europe has the treatments.
Europe has the vaccines.

Now Europe needs the political will to finish the job.

💚 One Liver. One Life. One Future.

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27/07/2026

🎗️ On World Head & Neck Cancer Day, we stand with everyone affected by head and neck cancers.

For people diagnosed with locally advanced cancers of the larynx and hypopharynx, treatment decisions can have a profound impact on their ability to speak, swallow and maintain their quality of life. That's why more personalised treatment approaches are so important.

Through the OPTIMIZE project, CPE is helping ensure that research remains patient-centred every step of the way. By contributing to the ethical, legal and social framework of the project, integrating patient perspectives, and promoting meaningful patient involvement, we are working to ensure that innovation reflects the needs, values and rights of those it aims to serve.

Together with our partners, we are supporting research that seeks to identify biomarkers to better predict which patients are most likely to benefit from larynx-preserving treatments, helping clinicians make more informed treatment decisions and ultimately improving patient outcomes.

On this World Head & Neck Cancer Day, we reaffirm our commitment to advancing research that not only extends lives but also protects quality of life.

🔗 Learn more about OPTIMIZE project: https://cancerpatientseurope.org/optimize/

27/07/2026

🎗️ July 27th marks .

To mark the occasion, we're sharing a patient testimonial video from INTERCEPTOR, a European research network dedicated to the early detection and interception of oral cancer through the study of oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMD).

Head and neck cancers, including oral cancer, remain deeply impactful diagnoses — affecting not only physical health, but speech, appearance, eating, and overall quality of life. Hearing directly from patients reminds us why early detection, timely diagnosis, and coordinated, patient-centred care must remain at the heart of research and policy in this field.

We're proud to support initiatives like INTERCEPTOR that put patient experience at the centre of scientific progress, working to transform how oral and head and neck cancers are understood, detected, and treated across Europe.

🎥 Watch the patient testimonial: https://opmd-cancer.com/patient-testimonies

🔗 Learn more: https://interceptoralcancer.com/

SPOT IT-STOP IT!

24/07/2026

🗣️ Every cancer patient deserves to have a voice in decisions about their care.

Shared Decision-Making (SDM) is more than discussing treatment options, it's about ensuring that every patient's values, preferences and lived experiences are part of the decision-making process.

As a partner in the SALVOVAR project, CPE welcomes new research exploring how Shared Decision-Making is currently applied in oncology and where improvements are still needed.

The SALVOVAR research found that while most Shared Decision-Making models include discussing treatment options and patient preferences, many still fail to fully reflect the real-life challenges patients face, including emotional, communication and healthcare system barriers.

By strengthening SDM, we can help ensure that patients are not just informed, but empowered to actively participate in decisions about their treatment.

📖 Read more: https://cancerpatientseurope.org/why-shared-decision-making-matters-for-cancer-patients/

🔗 Learn more about SALVOVAR project: https://www.salvovar.eu/

23/07/2026

🤝 Prevention creates lasting impact when proven solutions reach more communities.

On 7–8 July, CPE attended the PREVENT EU Project 5th Plenary Meeting in Barcelona, where project partners came together to review progress, share insights from the pilot sites, and shape the next phase of the project. A highlight of the meeting was the session with the Catalan Pilot Board, where consortium partners met with local organisations and experts working on childhood obesity prevention.

PREVENT is developing and testing innovative approaches to tackle childhood obesity, a key risk factor for several cancers later in life, through school-based interventions in Greece, Spain (Catalonia), and Sweden.

As part of the project's next steps, CPE leads the development of a handbook capturing the PREVENT methodology and practical recommendations to support the replication and scale-up of these interventions across Europe, which will be presented during a workshop in 2027.

Together, we're working to ensure that effective prevention strategies don't stay local; they become lasting solutions that benefit communities across Europe.

🔗 Learn more about PREVENT Meeting in Barcelona: https://cancerpatientseurope.org/cpe-contributes-to-the-next-phase-of-the-prevent-project-at-the-5th-plenary-meeting-in-barcelona/

🔗 Learn more about PREVENT project: https://preventproject.eu/

17/07/2026

How can the EU Biotech Act accelerate early access to innovative treatments through a more patient-centred clinical trials framework?

On 1st July, CPE hosted the webinar "How can the EU Biotech Act accelerate early access for patients through an improved clinical trials framework?" as part of CPE's 2026 Policy Webinar Series. The event brought together policymakers, patients, regulators, researchers and industry representatives to explore how the EU Biotech Act can strengthen Europe's clinical research ecosystem and ensure innovation delivers real benefits for patients.

The discussion highlighted the need for the EU Biotech Act to support:
🔹 A patient-centred, inclusive and accessible clinical trials framework that brings innovative treatments to patients faster;
🔹 Patients at the heart of biotech policy and clinical research;
🔹 Stronger collaboration across stakeholders to translate biotech innovation into better patient outcomes.

A sincere thank you to our speakers, MEP Nicholas Papandreou, MEP Stine Bosse, Edit Szepessy, Jan Rynne, Álmath Spooner, Pilar de la Rocha Mur, Denis Lacombe, Susan Bhatti, and moderator Tamsin Rose for their valuable contributions.

At CPE, we believe patients must be partners, not just participants, in shaping Europe's biotechnology future. As discussions on the EU Biotech Act continue, patient access, meaningful involvement and equitable innovation must remain at the heart of the conversation.

📄 The webinar report is now available: https://cancerpatientseurope.org/policy-webinar-2026-n-3-eu-biotech-act-clinical-trials/

🎥 Missed the webinar? Watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KB02iz5Y1Gg