The work of FACE will consists of monitoring the work of the European Union and monitoring the situation of various legislation that passes through the EU that will effect cancer patients in the EU Member States and liaising with civil society groups to relay their concerns at the European level.

 FACE currently works on the following issues connected to cancer patients:

• Cancer Research
  Cancer research is essential to uncover new approaches to clinical and public-health intervention. Cancer research should aim to identify the causes of cancer and to develop better strategies for prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care.

• Health Inequalities
  There is good evidence that significant European variability exists both in delivery of services and outcomes of care at each stage of the patient pathway, from information provision through to palliative care.

• Clinical Trials Directive
  Clinical Trials have been a key factor in improving cancer survival and advancement in treatment. However, the Directive and their national implementations have slowed the opening of trials, without a large improvement in patient safety, which already had a good track record in trials in oncology, or a desired acceleration or harmonization of pan-European cancer research.

• Information to Patients
  Whilst the political debate around "information to patients" and "advertising" has been going on for years, European patients continue to suffer from the lack of access to quality information while the bait of miracle healers and door-to-door advertisers is still there. The current political momentum in the EU on "Information to Patients" is timely and welcome.

• Rare Cancers
  Special challenges of rare cancers are e.g. the lack of local medical expertise, late diagnoses and poor referral rates, not enough interest in research, not enough clinical trials, or the lack of funding and public attention for rare cancers.

• Palliative Care
  With the well-known demographic changes which are taking place in the EU, palliative care will be of increased importance in providing care for the ageing population. Raised to the policy level, this translates to a need to efficiently use resources (both human and financial) to guarantee the best possible quality of care.

• Youth Aspects
  Since cancer is mostly appearing in the third quartile of life, cancer advocacy is often focused on that population, disregarding that healthy lifestyle and early prevention might save young Europeans from getting cancer. A clear health awareness message has to be sent to the European youth.