Abstract
Cancer prevention and control services worldwide must actively rebuild and contribute to improved health systems resilience alongside and beyond the COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus disease) pandemic, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Cancer advocacy groups should respond to this unprecedented challenge as an opportunity to bolster community and patient involvement in research and clinical practice that is adjusted to local needs and circumstances. This short communication provides a synthesis of these critical challenges and, stemming from the pioneering activities of Gordon McVie on patient empowerment, urges policy makers and researchers to develop new implementation strategies that start from the social, economic and health consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic to overcome roadblocks in the access to cancer care. We propose that developing the domain of collaborative implementation research in national cancer control plans will be the key to consolidate patient-centred services with both an equity lens and a focus on integration of new technologies as all countries drive towards the 2030 goals of universal health coverage.
Highlights
The COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus disease) pandemic has hit cancer patients and services hard
We conclude with a reminder that during the lead-up to the High-Level Meeting on noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) in 2011, the Director General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, warned of a tsunami of cancer and other NCDs describing it as a ‘public health emergency in slow motion’
While evidence of patient and community insights has clearly contributed to improving cancer outcomes in the past decades, patient organisations and civil society groups still need to fight for what is often only a token engagement, a long way from being truly integrated into national cancer control plan processes and the research agenda in all countries
Summary
We conclude with a reminder that during the lead-up to the High-Level Meeting on noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) in 2011, the Director General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, warned of a tsunami of cancer and other NCDs describing it as a ‘public health emergency in slow motion’. While evidence of patient and community insights has clearly contributed to improving cancer outcomes in the past decades, patient organisations and civil society groups still need to fight for what is often only a token engagement, a long way from being truly integrated into national cancer control plan processes and the research agenda in all countries. Patient and civil society networks in LMICs are having an impact, but their real concerns for survival in these challenging times call for us as a global cancer community to help them bridge the time to recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and support their further development. Inclusion of cancer advocates and patient representatives within these collaborative research networks will ensure the most urgent needs and gaps are prioritised as we work towards the 2030 health and sustainable development goals
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