About this Initiative

As a medical doctor and former Director-General of the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC), Dr. Françoise Meunier has seen first-hand how her former patients still faced hardship after battling cancer. As a result, she has been advocating for change and set up this initiative to demand political action to protect cancer survivors from financial discrimination throughout Europe.
 

In addition to regularly engaging with various national and European stakeholders to raise awareness of the problem of financial discrimination, Dr. Meunier also organised three cancer survivorship summits in Brussels to create awareness of the specific needs of cancer survivors, particularly in relation to insurance and mortgages. A High-Level Conference also took place in Brussels on 15 February 2024.

Francoise Meunier

Françoise Meunier, MD, PhD, FRCP (UK)

Founder of the European Initiative on Ending Discrimination against Cancer Survivors

Member of The Royal Academies of Medicine of Belgium (ARMB)

Member of the European Academy of Cancer Sciences (EACS) Science Policy Committee
Member of the Survivorship and quality of life network of the European Cancer Organisation (ECO)
Member of the advisory board of smartCARE

Françoise Meunier dedicated her professional life to improving the survival and QoL of cancer patients.  

Prof. Meunier served as Director-General of EORTC (1991-2015), where she remained active until 2018 as Director of Special Projects, being the driving force behind cancer survivorship activities.

Since 2014, she has been pursuing activities on the Right to be Forgotten for cancer survivors, advocating for the creation of a harmonised legal framework to tackle discrimination against cancer survivors.

Prof. Meunier is a member of the Belgian Royal Academy of Medicine and holds the title of Baroness by His Majesty, The King Albert II of Belgium. More information about Prof. Meunier can be found here.

Awards:

  • Award for lifetime contribution to oncology – Pezcoller Foundation, Italy (2009)
  • Lifetime achievement award – European Society for Medical Oncology (2012)

  • Award for significant commitment to cancer survivors in Europe from European Cancer Organisation (2024)