Posts by author
Sophie Fessl
Surviving childhood cancer: how we standardise care across Europe
When Lejla Kameric’s daughter was treated for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, the twelve-year-old had to get through lumbar punctures without pain relief. “15 years ago in Bosnia, painful procedures and diagnostic activities were done without anaesthesia,” Kameric recalls. “Still now, young doctors…
Pain relief is a right: building confidence in opioid use in oncology
Opioid analgesics are essential for pain relief and pain treatment in patients with active malignant disease. Yet, in 2011, the World Health Organization estimated that, worldwide, 5.5 million people living with terminal cancer suffered from moderate to severe pain, because…
Older, frail patients are still being let down by the regulators
Hans Wildiers is frustrated. “This drug is well-tolerated in older persons – this is a very frequent conclusion in publications. And it is often not a correct conclusion,” says the immediate past president of SIOG, the International Society of Geriatric…
Who wouldn’t want to cure 100% of childhood cancers?
More than eight in ten children and young adults diagnosed with cancer now survive their disease, often going on to live long and fulfilling lives. But the serious life-long damage that is inflicted by many treatments is still a bit…
Croatia’s cancer plan showcases the value of European cancer collaboration
Croatia has caught up with the rest of the EU in adopting a national cancer control plan. Sophie Fessl looks at how using EU guidance drawn from experiences of other member states helped them ensure it is relevant, patient-centred, and…
Their fingers on the button: why neglecting radiation therapists is no longer an option
The job of a radiation therapist may sound straightforward: deliver the right dose of radiation to the right location. But it’s not. These are complex tasks that involve working with data, high-tech equipment and patients. Moreover, by doing each task…
Smoke without fire? Should cancer of unknown primary be treated as a separate disease?
Metastases, but no primary tumour – the diagnosis ‘cancer of unknown primary’ still presents great challenges, even in this age of precision oncology. Cancer of unknown primary (CUP) is an entity that encompasses a heterogenous group of metastatic cancers without…
Rare cancer care: Are European Reference Networks delivering on the promise?
What value can collaboration between EU member states add to the quality of care accessible to all EU citizens? It’s a question that has become urgent and topical with the coronavirus pandemic, and one that EU4Health, the EU’s new funding…
On a mission to beat cancer
One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind – the words Neil Armstrong pronounced as he completed humankind’s first mission to the moon, will – if the European Commission gets its way – soon be pronounced for other…
Evidence-based medicine and precision medicine – irreconcilable or inseparable?
"Medicine cannot be learned quickly, because it is impossible for there to exist any established method in it, as for example when someone who has learned to write in one way that is taught then understands everything. Medicine from one…