Queen Letizia spoke about the pandemic’s effects on cancer research at an event to mark World Cancer Research Day.
The Queen, who is the permanent Honorary President of the Spanish Association Against Cancer and its scientific foundation, also helped celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Association.
“Thanks…to all the speakers for taking part in this meeting that, year upon year, aims to highlight the challenges that cancer research faces, especially after 18 months of the pandemic,” Queen Letizia said in a short speech at the event in Madrid.
“In this edition of the World Cancer Research Day, we will see how, with the right strategies, the survival rate of some cancers can certainly be improved.”
Queen Letizia was joined by Diana Morant, Spain’s Minister of Science and Innovation, and Ramón Reyes, the President of the Spanish Association Against Cancer. The event was a mixture of in-person and virtual meetings to discuss the latest updates in cancer research.
Queen Letizia noted that this year’s event would help them advance research and patient care. “We will also be able to determine that, advantages brought by networked and collaborative research, offer the consequence that patients will have better access to information, more consistent, and researchers will increase the opportunities for advancement.”
She further noted the three main commitments of cancer researchers: working to achieve better survival rates, guarantee patients’ access to effective treatment and an early diagnosis, and increasing public knowledge and awareness to receive medical care and early diagnosis.
World Cancer Research Day was created in 2016 following a declaration and goal in 2013 to decrease cancer rates worldwide, decrease deaths due to cancer, and improve the quality of life and survival rates of cancer patients.
Its initiatives are supported by 107 organisations worldwide that encompass over 12,000 researchers and over 600,000 people.
