Cancer is the 2nd leading cause of mortality in EU countries after cardiovascular diseases. Health system resilience has been rising in the political agenda throughout the last decade, becoming a key political priority. Before Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan was launched, Europe has been working on tackling cancer for decades, but despite the efforts, cancer remains one of the leading challenges of our time. Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan aims to improve the prevention, detection, treatment and management of cancer in the EU and reduce health inequalities between and within the Member States. The plan sets forth actions that can support, coordinate and supplement the efforts of Member States within the remit of the EU in health care. The Plan places the interests and wellbeing of patients and the population at its centre, every step of the way. This approach together with the improvement of health literacy, equal access to medicine and innovations, is a promising reform of European cancer policy that is needed now more than ever. Cancer Patient Organisations working on policy and advocacy have the ability to affect the prioritization of health policy ideas, raise attention to healthcare issues, lobby and provide consultative services to policymakers both in European but also on national level.