European Week Against Cancer 2026 

From 25 to 31 May 2026, GAMIAN-Europe joined the European Week Against Cancer, the annual awareness campaign organised by the Association of European Cancer Leagues under the theme “Together against cancer inequalities”.  

For GAMIAN-Europ when we talk about cancer inequalities, mental health cannot be left out of the conversation. According to the European Cancer Leagues, every 9 seconds someone in Europe receives a cancer diagnosis. The emotional and psychological journey that follows, living with uncertainty, going through treatment, and rebuilding life afterwards, too often goes unsupported. 

 
What our new report reveals 

Together with Cancer Patients Europe, GAMIAN-Europe released a new Analysis Report, Mental Health for Cancer Patients in Europe, mapping 291 mental health services across 33 European countries.  

The findings reveal a Europe deeply divided in access to psycho-oncological care. A clear West-East divide emerges across the data. Western European countries, including Spain, France, Ireland, and Belgium, offer more diverse, clinically integrated services with greater institutional involvement. Eastern European countries, including Ukraine, Romania, and North Macedonia, rely predominantly on non-clinical, voluntary-sector support, with significantly fewer services overall.  

When it comes to the types of support available, the picture is similarly uneven. 42% of services mapped are peer support groups, 39% offer psychological counselling, 13% are clinically integrated into oncology care, and just 6% provide referral or signposting to external services. This means that for the vast majority of cancer patients across Europe, mental health support remains disconnected from their clinical care pathway.  

The report also looked at how services are delivered. 58% of services are provided in person, while 42% are available online. In Eastern Europe, online-first models are more prevalent, often filling a gap left by insufficient in-person capacity rather than complementing it. In Ukraine, online support is the only available option. 

Language accessibility remains a significant barrier in many countries. While multilingual services are growing in Western Europe, in many Eastern European countries services are offered exclusively in the local language, limiting access for migrants and minority populations.  

Between 10% and 58% of cancer patients experience anxiety or depression. Most never get the help they need. (Source: Mental Health and Cancer Hub, GAMIAN-Europe and Cancer Patients Europe) 

What needs to change: the report’s recommendations 

The report makes seven concrete recommendations addressed to governments, health systems, patient organisations and policymakers across Europe: 

1. Integrate Mental Health into Oncology Care. Governments and healthcare systems should promote the systematic integration of mental health services into standard cancer treatment pathways. 
2. Strengthen Clinical Mental Health Support. Investment is needed to expand clinically led psychosocial oncology services, particularly in countries where support is currently limited to non-clinical or voluntary providers. 
3. Support Patient Associations. Given their central role, patient associations should receive sustainable funding, training, and institutional recognition. 
4. Improve Equity of Access. Efforts should be made to reduce regional disparities and improve access for rural populations, migrants, and linguistic minorities. 
5. Expand Multilingual and Online Services. Multilingual provision and high-quality digital mental health services should be encouraged, especially where in-person care is not feasible. 
6. Promote Disease-Specific Support. Where resources allow, mental health services should be adapted to the specific psychosocial needs of different cancer types. 
7. Enhance Data Collection and Monitoring. Regular mapping and evaluation of mental health services for cancer patients should be conducted to inform policy and improve service quality. 

Finding support: the Mental Health and Cancer Hub 

For patients and carers looking for support, GAMIAN-Europe, Cancer Patients Europe and Association of European Cancer Leagues  created the Mental Health and Cancer Hub, a free platform mapping psychological and psychosocial services across 20+ European countries. 

The Hub covers a wide range of service types including counselling and psychotherapy, peer support groups, cancer support centres, helplines and online services, and complementary and integrative therapies. Services are searchable by country and language, making it easier for patients and carers to find relevant support wherever they are in Europe. 

 What comes next 

GAMIAN-Europe will continue to advocate for the systematic integration of mental health into cancer care across Europe. Through the ALTHEA project, co-funded by the European Union under the EU4Health Programme, we are working with 26 partners across 16 countries to build a more equitable and integrated model of psycho-oncological care.