I feel very honoured to be addressing you as the new EONS President. During my term, I am determined to build on the great work of EONS and my predecessors. As a proud cancer nurse, I will continue supporting people with cancer, I will lead colleagues and others as they assess where they are now and where they want to be, and I will help them to shine and be the best they can be. 

Cancer care is continuously evolving to meet existing and new needs; at the same time, it is exposed to new organisational challenges and high technological demands. I regard these challenges not as a threat for EONS but as a chance to embrace new opportunities and open up new possibilities for cancer nursing within the healthcare community. The challenges ahead are by no means impassable. I am determined to build on EONS’ vision and mission with an enduring ambition to create and consolidate opportunities designed to address the short- and long-term needs of the cancer nursing community. I also envision a society that is committed to long-term thinking about the world we want to build for current and future generations of cancer nurses.

EONS has evolved tremendously over the years, and should remain committed to revealing untapped possibilities to better support our members in the continuously evolving care of cancer patients and their caregivers. Our objective must always be to improve the overall quality of cancer care across lifetimes – from prevention and screening, to diagnosis and treatment, to supportive care to cancer survivorship and end of life care.

EONS has always been a leader in supporting evidence-based practice by equipping our membership  community with the tools they need through the EONS’ CARE model: communication, advocacy, research and education. During my term, communication, ongoing advocacy work, quality research and delivering innovative educational programs will remain the core of our work, to ensure that cancer nurses are equipped with the knowledge and skills to provide quality cancer care for patients and their caregivers.

I like exploring the world’s diversity and reaching out to others because I believe that we can learn so much from each other and grow together; working towards common goals in the best interest of all EONS members, our stakeholders and for the benefit of all cancer patients and their caregivers, across Europe and beyond. So, with an ongoing commitment to inclusivity, I will foster close collaborations with our members, partners and stakeholders in order to further science development, increase knowledge and integrate a culture of professionalism and innovation. To help address the wide spectrum of demands that come with this responsibility, we will continue influencing our legislators about the significant importance of the recognition of cancer nursing in the healthcare community.

I feel privileged to start my term supported by EONS’ dedicated Board, passionate working group members and the highly skilled EONS team, and, I feel confident that together we will continue to build the future of EONS and always bring you the best of cancer nursing.

I will always embrace the opportunity and trust, given to me by EONS members, in being your president as I seek to build the perfect society for us all.

Johan De Munter, EONS President