Preventing cancer with mobile application

Press release of MEP Lívia Járóka

The EPP Group held a conference in the European Parliament today, named “The EU must take its responsibility to fight against cancer”. In its recently adopted position paper on Cancer, the EPP Group commits to do everything in its power to ensure that nobody dies from cancer in the EU 20 years from now. During this conference Lívia Járóka, Vice-President of the European Parliament launched the Athena project and introduced the project Életjelek (Signs of Life), developed by Barbara Földvári and Csaba Dallos, mentored by Járóka.

Cancer is one of the main challenges today. Almost one in three Europeans will develop cancer in their lifetime and every European knows how painful and impactful the burden of cancer remains. While major responsibilities for healthcare belong to the Member States, the EU can and should play its part.

“As my colleague, EPP Group MEP Peter Liese rightly said, no one should die from cancer. The Athena Application is an educational program aimed to provide the necessary tools and opportunities for women, to get to know their bodies’ natural behaviour and to notice any abnormal changes. The program uses basic steps to show women how to make a “self-recognition”, “self-observation” directing to help and balance their possible medical disadvantages, no matter where they are, where they were educated, their ethnic origin or financial situation”, said the Fidesz MEP.

“The poor are overrepresented among the patients suffering from cancer, so poverty and cancer are closely interlinked. In the era of digitalisation it is inevitable to provide digital skills to all citizens so that they can have access to life-saving information by using mobile applications of this kind. With the help of the digital applications up to 30 percent of cancer could be prevented”, added the Vice-President.

For further information on the Athena project and Signs of Life project: https://athena-eu.eu/  www.eletjelek.hu