The ‘right to be forgotten’ refers to the stigma that can accompany a cancer diagnosis resulting in unfair treatment by financial institutions, insurance companies and employers.
BCAC’s Libby Burgess learnt more about this at the European Society for Medical Onocology (ESMO)’s recent Asia Pacific Congress.
Oncologist Ines Vas-Luis addressed survivorship, i.e. reintegration into family, workplace and society after cancer. Sometimes people experience lingering treatment side-effects such as fatigue, sleep deficit, pain or cognitive issues that require accommodation at work through flexible hours or lighter duties. Employers and governments can act to overcome cancer-related stigma and bias by promoting employer education to combat misconceptions and enhance understanding of employee needs and by developing Return to Work pathways. Public education about survivorship can also be helpful.
Financial toxicity is a problem for many through loss of employment, treatment costs and ongoing discrimination by insurers as well as those providing financial services such as loans and mortgages. The EU Commission’s Europe Beating Cancer Plan has a goal of ensuring that all member states adopt legislation protecting the rights of cancer patients. With encouragement from ESMO, nine countries have so far adopted legislation protecting cancer survivors from having to disclose cancer-related information after a defined remission period. This initiative is called the Right to be Forgotten. Protection varies across countries, with legislation preventing discrimination after 5, 7 or 10 years cancer-free, while in Belgium protection begins just one year after early-stage, low risk breast cancer. Some countries have shorter delays for people diagnosed before the age of 21.
New Zealand has no such legislative protection. There are no time limits on the ability of insurance companies in New Zealand to seek all medical information and use it to discriminate through policy refusal, higher premiums, imposition of exclusions and limits on benefits.
