What is advocacy?

It has been defined as ‘The act of pleading or arguing in favor of something, such as a cause, idea, or policy’. Here are two quotes on advocacy, both on breast cancer advocacy:

‘This is not about MY breast cancer. It is about everybody’s life with breast cancer. This is not a personal battle but a political one, in order to fight a disease that affects the lives of so many European women. The use of one’s personal experience in a constructive and creative manner in order to bring about awareness and change – this is what breast cancer advocacy is about. It is about life.’ Stella Kyriakides, former President of EUROPA DONNA – The European Breast Cancer Coalition.

 ‘Every woman has a voice. Every woman’s voice tells a highly personal story, which, when blended with the voices of a thousand other women, becomes a rising wave of similar hopes and dreams, fears and concerns. In the field of breast cancer, this rising tide of women’s voices speaking out as sufferers, supporters and campaigners is a powerful force for progress in combatting the disease, and it was to give a platform to those voices and harness the power that EUROPA DONNA was launched’. Cancer Futures Vol 1 (2-3), March 2002

What do patient advocates and patient advocacy groups do?

Patient advocates are generally people with personal experience of a condition, who:

• campaign for access to the best available diagnosis, treatment and care
• work to make good quality information available to the public, patients and their families
• advocate for ongoing research into the causes and treatment of the condition

Breast cancer advocacy has been a strong and successful force for change for a number of years.