As part of its citizens engagement activities, the EU Cancer Mission launched a new dialogue with young cancer survivors in 2023.
Starting in January 2023, young cancer survivors from all over Europe have been gathered through a series of thematic workshops and a conference, to better understand the challenges they face during and after cancer treatment.
This dialogue steers the work of the Cancer Mission, enabling young cancer patients and survivors to co-create initiatives that will help address their specific needs, such as mental health, follow-up care or continuity in education, through research or policy actions.
This slideshow showcases the powerful stories of young cancer survivors whose voices are shaping the future of cancer control. These are not just anecdotes but essential contributions to the Cancer Mission's ongoing dialogue with young cancer survivors. By listening to their experiences, we aim to increase awareness among citizens, stakeholders and Member States about the unique challenges faced by adolescents and young adults (AYA) with cancer. Their insights have already inspired actions, leading to the development of two dedicated Calls under Horizon Europe and EU4Health, to better understand and manage late-effects of treatments and promote quality care.
Through these initiatives, we strive to fill an important gap in cancer care, aiming to develop through interdisciplinary collaborations, effective strategies to improve long-term health outcomes, Overall, these efforts aim to enhance the quality of life for AYA cancer survivors, promoting their physical, emotional, and social well-being while reducing disparities across EU countries.
Read more: Young cancer survivors in Europe get increased post-cure help
Addressing the needs of young cancer survivors
The dialogue has been instrumental for the organisation of the conference “Addressing the needs of Young Cancer Survivors” held in February 2023.
For the first time, it brought together young cancer patients and survivors from EU Member States and beyond, to discuss their key challenges and needs, feeding into the Mission's work on the quality of life for survivors of childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood cancer.
The conference was part of a workshop cycle whose report summaries can be found here:
Testimonials
Victor GirbuVictor (member of Youth Cancer Europe - Youth Cancer Europe (YCE)) tells us how cancer impacted his outlook on life, his key message to those funding cancer research, and what is on the top of his agenda for the future workshops with the Cancer Mission.
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Karolina Georgia GiannakopoulouKarolina (young cancer survivor) shares the key challenges of her cancer experience, how she coped, as well as her take the most pressing research needs of young cancer survivors that are not currently being met.
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Martina PinteričMartina (Slovensko združenje bolnikov z limfomom in levkemijo (limfom-levkemija.org) tells us about the most important activities that helped her recovery, how she sees the future of cancer research, and how it could benefit young cancer survivors.
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Ania BuchaczAnia (Pomoc dzieciom chorym onkologicznie – Fundacja Pani Ani) shares how her cancer experience made her a patient advocate, her message to those funding cancer research, and her views on how the Cancer Mission dialogue can help address key challenges of young cancer survivors.
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In June 2025, the Cancer Mission hosted an event at the Osaka Expo in Japan, together with Japan’s National Cancer Centre, to create the basis for future cooperation. Citizen engagement and in particular the engagement with young cancer survivors featured high on the agenda. Both the Cancer Mission and Japan’s National Cancer Centre brought several young cancer survivors, to exchange on their specific needs and challenges and how R&I can better address them.
Japanese survivors and researchers also joined along with around 50 EU participants the last AYA workshop. The event was hosted in Brussels and online on 2 March 2026 and reviewed progress since 2023, focusing on research, innovation, and initiatives benefiting AYA cancer survivors. It also followed-up on the EU Cancer Mission–Japan event in Osaka, discussing patient involvement in clinical trial design and implementation.
The dialogue has led to the inclusion of a proposal to develop a platform for young cancer survivors to better support their mental health, as a flagship initiative of the European Commission communication on a comprehensive approach to mental health (adopted in June 2023). A €7million innovation action has been included in the 2026 Cancer Mission annual Work Programme to support the development of the platform, as a specific module of the European Cancer Patients Digital Centre currently in development. The group of young cancer survivors engaged through dialogue has been instrumental for the definition of the features to be developed in the ECPDC.
New research topics were included in the Horizon Europe Cancer Mission and EU4Health work programmes 2025, with emphasis on late effects of treatments, quality of life and survivorship in adolescent and young adult cancers.
The Cancer Mission organised a thematic session “Improving quality of life of young cancer survivors” at the Research and Innovation days on 21 March 2024.
Similarly, a thematic session “Boosting mental health of young cancer survivors” was held at the European Heath Forum Gastein on 26 September 2023.
An article was published in the Horizon magazine on quality of life and survivorship for young cancer patients.
The European Youth Cancer Network (YARN) complements these efforts by connecting young people affected by cancer across Europe. Building on the EU-CAYAS-NET and OOCAU’s, projects, YARN provides a community-curated resource library, peer support, and a platform for young cancer patients, survivors and their families across 25 countries.
Contact
For more information you can reach us at: RTD-SANTE-CANCER-MISSION
ec [dot] europa [dot] eu (RTD-SANTE-CANCER-MISSION[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu)