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Published on 14 December 2017 back to previous

We reach the end of a transformative year for EuropaColon in which we have attained record membership, partner numbers and announced our expansion into digestive cancers – oesophageal, pancreatic and gastric. It is the perfect platform for an extremely productive 2018!

Highlights in November and December included:

1. Making our partnership with surgeons a reality.
   To make a real difference in healthcare, partnerships are everything. We have been lucky enough to establish incredibly meaningful associations with almost every stakeholder involved in colorectal cancer – from health ministries and governments to clinicians, the media and, of course, patients. But to date, our work with surgeons has been limited. That has all changed this year, and in addition to working with the ESSO and ESCP we were invited to a surgical meeting at the Gemelli hospital in Rome where our CEO Jola Gore-Booth presented on the Power of Partnerships and had the opportunity to talk with several key surgeons – we look forward to working more closely with this vitally important stakeholder in the future. It was also announced that we would with the help of Professor D’Ugo and his colleagues and team be launching EuropaColon Italy in 2018. In addition, Jola was hugely honoured to be invited to witness laparoscopic surgery performed live by renowned surgeon Professor Gong from China. The skill was incredible to witness first-hand, and with this method, we know that patients can be out of hospital and getting on with their lives sooner than ever. We look forward to working with Professor D’Ugo in 2018.
   
   
2. Sending a giant inflatable colon to Scotland! 
   EuropaColon working with Inflatable Body Organs (IBO) and their giant Inflatable Colon helped to raise awareness of colorectal cancer across the Western Isles of Scotland – five Isles in five days!!! The team was thrilled to be visited by Pudsey Bear in Stornoway - from the UK’s ‘Children in Need’ charity initiative – to help raise awareness about bowel screening.  Bowel screening uptake across the Western Isles has increased over time but still fewer than three out of five people take up the invitation to be screened. For approximately every 650 people invited for regular screening, one bowel cancer death will be prevented.
   
   
3. Attending a major congress in digestive cancers.
   Jola Gore-Booth and our Director of Policy, Geoffrey Henning, attended the United European Gastroenterology (UEG) annual meeting in Barcelona. This is a key discipline in the management of digestive cancers and therefore an important meeting for us. In addition to meeting sponsors and our clinical supporters, Geoffrey was invited to present to the Health Stomach Initiative. He outlined our plans for oesophageal and gastric cancer including the forthcoming patient survey, our support for patients and carers initiative and a Heatmap to detail the issues and blocks to treatment and care. Look out for more information on all of this in 2018!
   
   
4. Co-chairing the patient track of the Pancreatic Cancer Academy.  Pancreatic cancer is an area of significant unmet need and will become a major focus for us in the future. Taking place in Prague this year, the Pancreatic Cancer Academy meeting brought together clinicians, nurses and patient advocates for two days of information sharing. We left the meeting feeling very positive, with considerable support shown for greater interaction by the different groups to achieve more in this important area.
   
   
5. Participating in a patient forum at ISPOR. Zorana Maravic, our Director of Group and Project Development, participated at the ISPOR Annual European Congress in Glasgow in November. Zorana took part at the 9th Patient Representative Roundtable organized by ISPOR and, with fifteen other patient representatives, joined other key stakeholders such as researchers, payers, decision makers, and health technology producers to discuss the evolution of patient involvement in HTA and the added value of real-world and patient-level data.

Finally, from all of us here at EuropaColon, we are wishing you a very happy and restful holiday season.

We look forward to sharing lots of exciting developments with you in 2018!