It is with great pleasure and pride that we welcome two new Members into the Digestive Cancers Europe fold. They are:

A.R.CA.D – Aide et Recherche en Cancérologie Digestive of France Analysis and Research in CAncers of the Digestive system and

IGET – Institute for Gastroenterological Tumors of Croatia

We have asked both organisations to introduce themselves. You can discover A.R.C.A.D below. Please see this dedicated introductory article on IGET from our new Croatian Member. We offer both of them a hearty welcome and very much look forward to working with them in moving ahead for digestive cancer patients in their countries and across Europe!

Introducing A.R.CA.D

A.R.CA.D Foundation is a French research and patient advocate non-profit charity founded in 2006. It works on different levels nationally and internationally to raise awareness, provide education and advocate for the prevention, treatment and cure of gastrointestinal cancers.

“Our organisation is very pleased to join DiCE because we share the same objectives on awareness raising, education and advocacy,” explains Dr. Lama Sharara, Director General and Chief Executive Officer of A.R.CA.D.. “It is also very much in line with our Foundation’s desire to develop partnerships, to support and strengthen research at an international level and above all, which is a priority for our foundation, to defend the interests of patients to have access to the best possible care. At A.R.CA.D we are convinced that together we are stronger to carry out this mission.”

About A.R.CA.D

The organisation was granted the legal status of ‘publicly recognized foundation’ by the French government in 2006. It is the only French organization exclusively dedicated to Digestive Cancers. It was created by its Chairman, Prof. Aimery de Gramont, the French world-renowned oncologist – pictured below.

The organisation has three main objectives:

• Make the public and health workers sensitive to the need for prevention and early screening of digestive cancers
• Promote the improvement of patient care, patient advocacy and clinical research in the field of digestive cancers
• Provide better information and support to patients suffering from digestive cancers

A.R.CA.D’s philosophy, priorities and actions

A.R.CA.D believes that the patient should be allowed and expected to participate in the decision making processes regarding his treatment and, whenever possible, efforts should be made to encourage patient participation in clinical trials.

Their current priorities are to:

• Help patients increase their chances of a successful treatment
• Help patients find their way to information that allows them to have a clear choice of therapeutic options
• Advocating that each individual patient has access to the best treatment available
• Give support to patients and their families throughout and following treatment
• Be an active patient advocacy representative to ensure patients’ rights

Based on these priorities current concrete actions of the organisation are as follows:

• Promote and support clinical research and improve patient care by financing innovative programs and multicenter research projects
• Conduct, in full independence, informational campaigns for the public and for the cancer patient population
• Initiate the coordination of innovative programs associating public and private partners active in the field of digestive cancer research
• Support large-scale screening for digestive cancers and make the public and the medical profession sensitive to the importance of prevention in reducing the impact of these diseases.

You can find more information about A.R.CA.D on their website, on Twitter, via Facebook and on LinkedIn or please also contact us for any questions related to the topic.

Author:
Catie Young