MOSCOW, October 3 (RIA Novosti) - Council of Europe member states should ensure equality of all breast cancer patients and their access to adequate treatment, Cyprus delegate to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Stella Kyriakides said Friday.
“Across our Council of Europe member-states, women continue to fight their diagnoses and do not have access to optimum treatment and care. It is therefore necessary to call upon all our member-states to ensure the optimum minimum standards of care for patients diagnosed with this disease,” Kyriakides said, presenting a report on the issue.
“The life experiences of breast cancer are similar for women across boundaries, across religions and across race,” she stated, calling to “ensure that within the Council of Europe member-states, the efforts are directed to reduce disparity and inequality.”
Kyriakides noted that many women have to conceal their diagnoses as they face stigma and discrimination at work.
“Recent studies in fact show that there is still so much discrimination that one fifth of all breast cancer patients do not return to work after their diagnoses even though they are deemed to fit to do so. And frequently, women who do return to work in some countries, are often faced with income reductions,” Kyriakides said.
Following the sitting devoted to the issue of breast cancer, the delegates are expected to adopt the resolution “Towards optimum breast cancer services across Europe.”
