Patient Advocates Working Group

The ESMO Patient Advocates Working Group (PAWG) main mission is the optimisation of patient care in Europe and worldwide, the continuous improvement of cancer-specific information and education, the strengthening of patient autonomy and the support of patient rights.

Activities and responsibilities

• Providing adequate information about cancer, its diagnosis, treatment, palliative care and aftercare
• Organising meetings where patient organisations and individuals have the opportunity to express their wishes, concerns and requests
• Interacting with patients to share concerns and experiences and developing action plans for strengthening the role of patients in the oncology community
• Helping physicians and other healthcare providers to understand the specific needs of individual patients, to enhance the quality of communication and personal interaction
• Building strong coalitions between patient representative groups, cancer physicians and other healthcare providers in order to improve the quality of cancer care
• Assisting physicians in obtaining advice from specialists for rare or complex cancer cases

2022-2024 ESMO Patient Advocates Working Group (PAWG)

Chair

• Tanja Spanic, Europa Donna, Slovenia

Committee Members

• Agata Polińska, Alivia-Fundacja Onkologicza, Poland
• André Deschamps, Europa Uomo, Belgium
• Anne-Marie Baird, Lung Cancer Europe, Ireland
• Chris Curtis, The Swallows. Head and Neck cancer support group, United Kingdom
• Eva-Maria Stromsholm, Gynecological Cancerpatients, Finland,
• Jana Pelouchova, Diagnoza Leukemie, Czech Republic
• Natacha Bolaños, Lymphoma Coalition, Spain

Last update: August 2022