European Cancer Organisation
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| Formation | 2007 (1980s as FECS) |
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| Headquarters | Brussels, Belgium |
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Membership
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more than 60,000 |
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Staff
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27 |
| Website | ecco-org.eu [1] |
The European CanCer Organisation (ECCO) represents the interests of over 60,000 oncology professionals and promotes the multidisciplinarity of the field. The organisation connects the European cancer community by leveraging knowledge, promoting education and building awareness. ECCO also plays an important role in engaging with policymakers to promote the interests of cancer patients, research as well all other members of the oncocommunity. The organisation is renowned for its prestigious biennial series of multidisciplinary congresses.
In the early 1980s, a few European visionaries working in oncology laid the grounds of multidisciplinarity in cancer care, entailing that tackling cancer was a team effort that required a coordinated approach. It was a relatively new concept at the time, but 30 years later, multidisciplinarity is viewed as the best approach cancer treatment.
It was consequently decided to bring together major players in cancer research, treatment, and care in order to create awareness of patients’ wishes and needs, encourage progressive thinking in cancer policy, education, and training, and continue to promote European cancer research and its application through the organisation of a multidisciplinary conference called ECCO -the European Conference on Clinical Oncology (later renamed ECCO-the European Cancer Conference). To strengthen and further develop these ideas six professional societies, ESMO, ESTRO, ESSO, EACR, EONS, SIOPE legally founded FECS (Federation of European Cancer Societies).
After a period of reflection in 2006 and 2007, during which many players in oncology were consulted, FECS was transformed into a new dynamic entity: ECCO - the European CanCer Organisation.This was officially announced at the European Cancer Conference in Barcelona in September 2007, where the organisation was launched under its new name.
Since then, ECCO has been building a solid reputation by continuously expanding its outreach and education through its renowned and prestigious biennial series of congresses. The organisation also provides educational programmes such as the ECCO e-Learning as well as an online patient information section driven by dedicated focus groups in the form of officially appointed committees.
As a non-profit organisation, ECCO is devoted to achieve its charitable mission as outlined below:
• Uphold the right of all European cancer patients to have access to the best possible treatment and care
• Promote interaction between all organisations involved in cancer research, education, treatment and care at European level.
• Provide the unifying voice of European societies representing professionals in oncology and proactively engage with policy makers in driving oncopolicy in Europe.
ECCO aims to raise awareness and improve prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care of cancer patients. In order to fulfill this aim, the cancer community’s professionals gather at the premier European multidisciplinary oncology congress, organised by ECCO.
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