ECPC-European Cancer Patients Coalition announced on Sunday, June 8, 2013, at the Annual General Meeting the new Board that resulted from the elections that were held in May, while at the first Board meeting held same day the Board appointed the officers.

"The new board combines both the experience of previous boards and a promise of renewal, of professional expertise and energy, brought by the new members, several of whom are young but very active cancer patient advocates with excellent professional and educational background. Each of the members voted onto the Board brings a unique national perspective and direction of cancer care and advocacy, as well as invaluable input borne of experience from active participation in cancer patient organizations in their country" said Prof. Francesco de Lorenzo, President of ECPC and F.A.V.O.- Italian Federation of Cancer Patients Organisations.

Prof. de Lorenzo referred to the key priorities of the new board as focusing on the improvement of access to front line cancer care with special focus on rare cancers, the social problems that cancer generates in employability, disability, working conditions, on enacting and strengthening existing EU legislation like the national cancer plans and cancer registries which lack behind in more than one European country, on strengthening the relationship with ECPC membership through the creation of  working groups and the establishment of national coordinators, on building strategic alliances with other organizations with similar goals in research, medical education, health care policy and economics, industry.

The new Board of Directors includes:

Prof. Francesco de Lorenzo M.D. - President
Prof. de Lorenzo is a University professor of biochemistry; as a long time colon cancer survivor he has a rich experience in cancer advocacy: he is a co-founder and former  Vice  President and Board member of ECPC. He is the founder and president of AIMaC, Italy's first CIS and of FAVO - Italian Federation of Cancer Patients Organisations. Memberships: ACC (Italy's governmental network of cancer Institutes); Italy's National Cancer Plan Committee and National Volunteer Observatory of the Italian Welfare Ministry, ESMO Patient Advisory Group, and on EPAAC WP9 and on Cancer Survivorship.

Kathi Apostolidis – Vice President
Kathi is a Public Affairs Consultant with extensive experience in regulatory affairs, marketing and communications and a twice breast cancer survivor. Since 1995, she got involved in breast cancer and cancer patient rights advocacy. She is a member of Greek and International Cancer Patient Organisations and currently, serves as Deputy Board Member of KEFI-Association of Cancer Patients, Volunteers and Physicians/Greece, Patient Rights & Healthcare Policy Advisor to DEDIDIKA-Intergroup Committee for Cancer Patient Rights Advocacy/Greece. She is a member of the Strategic Committee for DigitalGreece2020, a twice SABCS scholarship recipient and SABCS social media responsible of ABCF, member of the Communications Team of the Society for Participatory Medicine, a Salzburg Global Seminar Fellow, graduate of the HTA/Patients Academy/LSE and of HKS non-profit leadership executive training.

Vlad Voiculescu – Vice President - Treasurer

Vlad is a Vice President with the Social Infrastructure Division of a leading financial institution in Central and Eastern Europe and specializes in healthcare financing in the CEE countries.  Vlad is a Board Member of ARIL (Romanian Association Against Leukemia), a long-time volunteer of several organizations in his home country Romania and the administrator of an information platform for patients & doctors (www.medicinainternationala.ro). He is also the administrator of an information platform aiming to bring awareness to and to campaign against medicines shortage in Romania (www.medicamente-lipsa.ro).

Jana Pelοuchova - Secretary
Jana is founder - chairperson of Diagnoza CML patient society, partner of the Czech Coalition for Health. She is a Chronic myeloid leukemia(CML) patient and contributed as co-founder to the establishment of the global  CMLAdvocates Network, president of the international Leukemia Patient Advocates Foundation . Jana is an ECPC Board member and Secretary since 2011 and ECPC representative in the RARE CANCERS EUROPE and ECCO Patient Advisory Committee.

Rafal Swierzewski, PhD
Rafal is a scientist and a cancer survivor of fibrosarcoma. He works at the Foundation for Children with Cancer Diseases "Krwinka"- Poland.  He earned his PhD in 2006 from the Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences and was a trainee at the Istituto per lo Studio delle Macromolecole, Conisiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Genova, Italy. His scientific work covers physico-chemical properties of biologically active compounds, drugs used in cancer chemotherapies and model substances properties in intercellular environment. Rafal  is a member of the Polish Society of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry,he has served as member  of numerous Scientific Conference Organizing  Committees and he is a graduate of the HTA/PatientAcademy/LSE.

Elena Caruso
Elena is an IT Engineer with expertise in communications working at Toyota in Brussels. Elena is a cancer carer having taken care of her father who was diagnosed with a stomach LNH and after seven years with acute leukemia that cause his death. Elena is a board member in charge of international relations of Associazione Bianco Airone Pazienti Onlus (ABAPO), an Italian cancer patients group supporting cancer patients and families to improve quality of life.

Sarah Lindsell
Sarah has a broad and diversified experience in NGOs governance. She is the Director of The Brain Tumour Charity since 2011, while previously she was Director of External Affairs and Fundraising at The Challenge. Prior to this, she held the role of UK Services Director for The Duke of Edinburgh's Award a federated structure.  Sarah previously held the roles of: CEO for Caritas, a lobbying federation that addresses poverty and injustice and for a grass-roots charity helping those living in poverty. She maintains an active commitment to supporting health and social justice issues, has undertaken research in family support and voluntary sector management.  Sarah was involved at European level with Caritas Europa and lobbied on health and social care issues on behalf of member organisations.