UEG Digestive Health Month Highlights Opportunities to Advance Treatment and Prevention of Diseases - Thierry Ponchon, MD, PhD

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26 WORLD GASTROENTEROLOGY NEWS JULY 2016 Editorial | Expert Point of View | Gastro 2016: EGHS-WGO | WDHD News | WGO & WGOF News | WGO Global Guidelines | Calendar of Events UEG Digestive Health Month Highlights Opportunities to Advance Treatment and Prevention of Diseases Thierry Ponchon, MD, PhD Chair, Public Affairs Committee United European Gastroenterology (UEG) Lyon, France The first United European Gastro-enterology (UEG) Digestive Health Month took place in May. It was held to raise awareness of digestive health conditions in Europe and to highlight opportunities to help advance the treatment and prevention of related diseases. Among the initiatives organized by UEG were two successful events held in the European Parliament in Brus-sels, Belgium. The events were held around the World Digestive Health Day and hosted by Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), AND drew attention to digestive health conditions, many of which are often ignored. The first was held on May 26. UEG and MEP Pavel Poc (S&D, Czech Republic) hosted a Prevention, Promotion, and Screening debate in cooperation with the Association of European Cancer Leagues (ECL). Stakeholders, including representa-tives from the European Union (EU) institutions and leading European health organizations and health pro- Panel Discussion at Prevention Promotion and Screening UEG Event in the European Parliament. UEG Digestive Health and Children Exhibi-tion in the European Parliament. fessionals, discussed best practices and challenges concerning the promotion of cancer screening in Europe with a focus on digestive cancers. The number of digestive cancer patients is growing every year. It is therefore essential to raise awareness that not all EU Member States have implemented digestive cancer screen-ing programs. In France, for example, despite a population based complete screening roll-out, population uptake remains low. Besides the public, all relevant stakeholders (including policy makers, health care professionals, and pri-mary doctors) have to be targeted by awareness activities. In addition, the support of patient associations and politicians is required to enhance the impact of screening programs all over Europe. A comprehensive investment in research is necessary, especially with regard to the diagnosis and treatment of pancreatic cancer. Participants agreed to support the sharing of best practices and will endeavor to continue raising awareness of the fact that screening programs are not yet implemented in all EU Member States. It was also agreed that the potential for a Written Declaration concerning pancreatic


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