Message from our President

Abstract

There is much evil in this world. An evil, which brutally breaks human lifelines, is cancer. Among women all over the world, this continues to be breast cancer. Our society brings together doctors who have undertaken to alleviate the dire lot of those affected by this intimidating disease. And the disease is one of many features. Alas, the circumstances, in which our patients battle breast cancer, vary drastically. We have devoted much time developing tools to improve treatment conditions and, consequently, to offer equal chances to breast cancer patients. One of these tools is the accreditation of centres, which offer our patients comprehensive treatment, care and wide-ranging rehabilitation. The SIS, in concert with many other international associations of oncologists, has established an accreditation system for BCUs. The overarching principle recognised by the SIS is an intellectual consolidation of the BCU team around our patients. The whole organisational and technical infrastructure is dedicated to managing our patients at every stage, from diagnosis to terminal treatment. We accredit centres all over the world and we do it free of charge. We do so to forward the mission of our society, which is to provide access to modern medical care of the highest achievable standards to as many breast cancer patients as possible. The accreditation principles were formulated by the SIS more than two years ago. Dear Colleagues, We speak of a major humanitarian effort, the success of which demands that we spend many more years doing intense work. Thanks to our School of Senology, in-depth knowledge of the concept of high and universally applied standards of treating breast cancer is shared by growing numbers of doctors throughout the world. The large scale I mention is not only a matter of our pride or ambition. It is, above all, a consequence of our awareness of a reality that comprises of global communication and economic inadequacy experienced by those who live with and suffer from breast cancer all over the world. The implementation of modern standards and application of diligent thinking and best practices on a global scale brings enormous savings. Thanks to them, the funds, the hard work of personnel, the meticulous reasoning of doctors are spent in optimal ways. But above all, we save quality lifetime for our patients. We alleviate their suffering. We avoid surrendering their lives needlessly. The centres we accredit are beacons for their environment and serve as models. We have reason to be proud of this and we should strive for the development of our society for the good of breast cancer patients all over the world. Our undertaking transcends politics. We are not working to make the benefit of our patients profitable for societies. We want every society to see our patients’ wellbeing as part of its own development.