Today in Europe, cancer causes one in five deaths and represents one of the greatest health challenges of our time. It’s a challenge that I face head on every single day in my job as I work to help make cancer a manageable - even curable - condition through the delivery of innovative treatment solutions.

Within Janssen, I chose to focus on blood cancers. This disparate group of malignancies make up approximately 7% of all cancers diagnosed worldwide. Although sometimes indolent, they can also be an aggressive subgroup of cancers with high morbidity and poor survival rates.

Availability of effective treatment options varies widely depending on the type of blood cancer. Having licensed five products in this area, we at Janssen recognise that there is a big need for new treatments, especially for patients who have relapsed or who cannot tolerate other available therapies.

To enhance patient access to better therapeutic options, we are working to improve our understanding of blood cancers, their diagnosis and treatment. We aim to identify and capture the disease before it takes hold of the body and requires complex treatments. We are pursuing advances diagnostics and treatment options to find the best treatment for a particular individual. We are also looking at harnessing the power of immuno-oncology to assist the body’s own immune system to fight cancer and revolutionise cancer treatment paradigms.

This is why, as part of the Victories Over Cancer^[1] campaign we launched “Make Blood Cancer Visible”^[2]. The initiative gives patients with rare cancers, who are often under-served or misunderstood, a voice in the world to share their personal journeys in managing the illness.

To enhance access, to provide therapeutic options, to personalise treatment, to improve the lives of patients, to give patients, their families, friends and carers a voice. For all these reasons, I won’t rest until, together with our partners, we manage to deliver solutions that make blood cancer, and other cancers, a manageable or even curable condition.

Author Bio                
Dr Catherine Taylor is responsible for the development and execution of the EMEA medical strategy for the haematology portfolio. Catherine holds a MD from King’s College London and is a member of the UK Royal College of Physicians. Prior to joining the pharmaceutical industry, she trained and practiced in Clinical Oncology in London for seven years. She also holds a Diploma in Pharmaceutical Medicine and has completed her UK speciality training in Pharmaceutical Medicine.

^[1] http://www.janssen.com/emea/vitories-over-cancer

 ^[2] http://www.janssen.com/emea /make-blood-cancer-visible