<![CDATA[ENGAGe: A New Voice for Cervical Cancer and HPV Awareness]]>

What Is ENGAGe?
The European Network of Gynaecological Cancer Advocacy Groups (ENGAGe) is an ESGO (European Society of Gynecological Oncology) network of European Patient Advocacy Groups representing all gynaecological cancers. The main objective of the network is to facilitate the development of national gynaecological cancer patient groups in Europe, and to advocate patient care policies practices and access to appropriate care at both national and European levels. ENGAGe does not only focus on cancer treatments, but also on cancer preventive measures including HPV vaccines and screenings for cervical carcinoma. The network is currently composed of more than 60 NGOs specified for gynaecological cancers from 25 European countries. ENGAGe is currently chaired both by Patient Advocate Esra Urkmez and by clinician Murat Gultekin.

What Does ENGAGe Do For HPV Awareness ?
“ENGAGE is actively involved in HPV awareness since it was first established” says Murat Gultekin. We are organizing annual patient seminars for all our members, and training European NGOs with latest advances in HPV vaccination plus screening. Interactive meeting with experts during Patient Seminars gives NGOs the opportunity to ask all respective questions directly and learn face to face from the experts. The goal is to bring the correct messages back home and become a voice for the fight against cancer in each European country. Coming together with the experts, learning the real life experiences from different countries give us a chance to be more proactives and to react before the anti-vaccine lobbies start.

Additionally, ENGAGe is very proactive to give HPV a Pan-European voice. Last year the NGOs performed a spinning activity altogether where, when sufficient calories were reached, a central globe representing the World started to turn around with the slogan “World turns around Women”. ENGAGe also supports Ride4Women, a yearly bike tour around Europe for raising awareness to HPV-related preventable cancers. A group of ENGAGe members rode at least 500 km across different countries, with the slogan “Be faster Than Cancer, Prevent HPV”. In 2016, the tour started in Vienna and finished in Istanbul by closing the Bosphorus Bridge to traffic. Here is a link from 2017 ride, when Ride4Women was passing by Berlin.

What Are The Future Plans Of ENGAGe On HPV? Co- chair of ENGAGe Esra Urkmez has stated the latest survey results of ENGAGe during ESGO Conference in Vienna. ENGAGe Survey of “What Patients want to tell their doctors” has been conducted in 10 Europe countries in 70 days with 1436 gynecological participants (Figure 1). ENGAGe survey was one of the 2017 ENGAGe projects, which was sponsored by Clovis Oncology, Astra Zeneca and MSD, and it included questions from awareness to prevention, from treatment to aftercare.

Esra Urkmez said that “knowledgeable and educated Patient Organizations are the power of ENGAGe in raising awareness to HPV in Europe ”.

ENGAGe’s ultimate goal is to create a policy with the power of data and make the necessary political changes within European parliament through these awareness events.

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Murat Gultekin, MD
Professor at Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine, Division of Gyn Oncol, ESGO Prevention Task Force Chair and ENGAGe Co-Chair
mrtgultekin@yahoo.com

Esra Urkmez, MSc
ENGAGe Co-Chair, ESGO Board Member, Dance with Cancer NGO President and Co-Founder, Kanserle Dans Dernegi Co-Founder
EsraB@cayre.com

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