The Parliamentary Assembly therefore recommends that Council
of Europe member States:
4.1 place
the fight against breast cancer at the top of their health agendas;
4.2 ensure that women have access to quality-controlled breast
cancer screening programmes organised on a national level and set
up in accordance with European guidelines, as well as to accurate, evidence-based
information on the potential benefits and risks of participating
in them, so that they can make an informed decision on their participation;
4.3 ensure that all breast cancer patients have effective
access, wherever their place of residence, to quality-assured diagnosis
and treatment in multidisciplinary breast units, which work in co-operation with
the national screening programmes set up in accordance with European
guidelines and which encourage shared decision making between patients
and medical teams;
4.4 establish and maintain national cancer registries providing
reliable data on the situation in the member States and task the
registries with, inter alia,
informing and raising awareness among the media and the general
public of the proper interpretation of this data;
4.5 outlaw any discrimination against breast cancer patients
on the basis of their disease status, in particular with regard
to employment and insurance;
4.6 encourage researchers in all Council of Europe member
and observer States to work together to further the understanding
of the disease and to improve screening, diagnosis and treatment
techniques in order to reduce mortality rates, improve the quality
of life of individual patients, reduce overdiagnosis and overtreatment
and, ultimately, find a cure for breast cancer.
