BJMO - volume 19, issue 3, may 2025
F. Meunier MD, PhD
Belgium has emerged as a strong advocate of combating financial discrimination against cancer survivors, offering one of the most advanced legal frameworks to protect them. As of 1 January 2025, cancer survivors must wait no more than five years after completing treatment and being in remission before being guaranteed equal access to financial services such as loans and mortgages. This framework, which also includes shorter delays for less-invasive cancers and those with high survival rates, ensures survivors are not penalised with inflated premiums or coverage refusals based on their medical history. The legislation reflects a growing recognition of the need to support cancer survivors in their recovery, ensuring they are also socially and economically reintegrated. Equally important is ensuring survivors are informed about their rights. Oncologists and other healthcare professionals have a key role in raising awareness about the potential discrimination survivors might face and providing them with relevant information on the legislative tools available to prevent it. Oncologists, however, may not be the best placed to do so, and dedicated resources are needed. Belgium’s approach, which includes regular updates to legislation based on the latest medical data, demonstrates a commitment to balancing medical advancements with societal needs. While gaps remain, including the reliance on generalised medical data, reliance on outdated prognosis data, lack of transparency of financial institutions’ assessment methods, as well as insufficient public awareness, Belgium’s framework serves as a model for other countries to follow, offering survivors hope for a fair and supportive recovery.
(BELG J MED ONCOL 2025;19(3):108–113)
Read moreBJMO - volume 19, issue 3, may 2025
E. Pape PhD
Patients who survive rectal cancer often experience bowel problems after surgical resection. This is also called low anterior resection syndrome (LARS), and has a substantial negative impact on the quality of life of patients. Previous research by the research group of Prof. Dr. Eva Pape has shown that patients need more information and support. Nurses can potentially play a major and valuable role in this. During the ESMO 2024 conference, nurse researcher Eva Pape (UZ Gent) presented the results of a study into the support of patients with LARS during a nurse-led consultation.1
(BELG J MED ONCOL 2025;19(3):104–107)
Read moreBJMO - volume 19, issue 2, march 2025
J. Eksteen MSc, C. Matthys PhD, R. Blaauw PhD, L. Husson , C. Veugelen , A. Uyttebroeck MD, PhD
Malnutrition within paediatric oncology has been linked to morbidity and mortality. As such, nutritional status is now recognised as a modifiable prognostic factor. Due to the complex nature of malnutrition in this group, a personalised approach to nutrition therapy has been suggested. This requires accessible and validated techniques to assess energy requirements and nutritional status.
(BELG J MED ONCOL 2025;19(2):63–67)
Read moreBJMO - volume 17, issue 7, november 2023
R. Rainsbury , M. Magara , On behalf of the United Bulawayo Hospitals and Association of Breast Surgery Matabeleland South Breast Cancer Project Partnership
Breast cancer has become the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in women living in Africa. Women in Zimbabwe experience some of the worst outcomes. A study of more than 1,400 Matabeleland South Province and Bulawayo City residents investigated the reasons for this shocking situation. This involved women and their families, health professionals, specialists, patient representatives, and other stakeholders. The study disclosed a range of reasons for major delays at every stage of the diagnostic pathway. Women and families delayed seeking help because of ignorance, lack of trust and the high cost of treatment. Health practitioners delayed referring patients because of a lack of training skills and confidence. Central hospitals postponed treatment because of a lack of specialisation and skills, and over-centralisation. In conclusion, many factors delay the presentation, diagnosis, and treatment of breast cancer in Zimbabwe. These factors are being addressed by the phased implementation of a programme prioritising training, new diagnostic skills, and resource-appropriate service reconfiguration, backed up by data collection, audit and public awareness initiatives.
(BELG J MED ONCOL 2023;17(7):259–63)
Read moreBJMO - volume 17, issue 6, october 2023
B. Van Gool MSc, J. Bouchat PhD, M. Rosskamp MSc, K. Van Herck MD, PhD, L. Van Eycken MD
Early-onset cancers are often defined as diagnoses below 50 years of age. Cancer incidence in this age group increases for specific cancer sites according to several international publications. This study describes the cancer incidence trends in Belgium in 2004–2020 in 20–49-year-old people. Overall cancer incidence increases by 0.3% per year in this age group. A decrease is observed for several cancers, including breast, prostate and lung cancer. On the other hand, the risk of being diagnosed with, e.g. melanoma, testicular cancer and thyroid cancer increases. Besides describing incidence trends in young and middle-aged adults, this study demonstrates that data from other (high-income) countries do not necessarily reflect the situation in Belgium and highlights the importance of national population-based data from cancer registries.
(Belg J Med Oncol 2023;17(6):230–5)
Read moreBJMO - volume 17, issue 3, may 2023
D. Schrijvers MD, PhD
Burnout is an important consequence of work-related stress. It is observed in 15–40% of resident physicians and has an important influence on their wellbeing, their professional career, and their patient-doctor relationship. Different interventions at the organisational, interpersonal and personal levels can be performed to prevent the development of burnout.
(BELG J MED ONCOL 2023;17(3):85–7)
Read moreBJMO - volume 17, issue 1, january 2023
D. Schrijvers MD, PhD
The quality of oncological care can be ensured by different means, such as graduate and postgraduate education, guidelines, quality labels and audits. Audits in medical oncology departments are not routinely performed and are only used in case of problems. In this article, the introduction of audits in the medical oncology department is advocated, and a strategy to implement this quality improving tool is proposed.
(BELG J MED ONCOL 2023;17(1):19–26)
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