Advancing Equitable, Age-Specific Cancer Screening

Europa Donna was represented at this year’s ASCO (American Society of Clinical Oncology) Annual Meeting in Chicago by Tanja Španić, Europa Donna’s former President and current Executive Director of Europa Donna Slovenia, and Donjeta Zeqa, current Europa Donna Board Member.

On 1 June, Tanja spoke during the Education Session on Global Health, which explored barriers to cancer screening worldwide and how new technologies and strategies can be adapted for diverse populations to maximise global impact. The well-attended session was moderated by Eric J. Small, President of ASCO, and Isabel Rubio, Europa Donna faculty member and Head of Breast Surgical Oncology at the Clínica Universidad de Navarra in Madrid.

Tanja’s presentation, “Implementing Age-Specific Cancer Screening: A Patient Advocate’s European and Global Perspective,” highlighted the essential role of equity, trust and patient partnership in making cancer screening effective. She emphasised that age-specific screening saves lives when access is equitable, and that trust is as important as technology. Patient organisations, she noted, must be recognised as partners in the design, implementation and accountability of screening programmes.

Key message: evidence alone is not enough. Implementation determines impact. The future of screening must be evidence-based, age-sensitive and co-created with patients.

As Tanja underlined, evidence guides screening, but partnership makes it work.