Former EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides, a breast cancer survivor from Nicosia, has turned her personal battle into global advocacy. In 2025, she received two major international honors for reshaping cancer policy, recognition that resonates across Cyprus and the wider Greek and Cypriot diaspora.
The ECO Foundation for Excellence and Quality in Oncology named Kyriakides the Most Influential International Political Personality in Oncology at its 2025 ceremony in Madrid on September 29, 2025. Earlier in the year, OncoDaily’s Yvonne Awards, held during the ASCO Annual Meeting in Chicago, honored her with the Lifetime Achievement Award on May 30, 2025.
“I dedicate this award to all patients, advocates, caregivers, scientists, and all who work side by side to change the realities of cancer,” she said at the ASCO ceremony.
The Reality of Cancer in Cyprus
These honors come at a time when cancer remains one of Cyprus’s most urgent health challenges. Each year more than 4,500 Cypriots are diagnosed with cancer, and more than 2,000 die from the disease, according to the European Cancer Organisation. Breast cancer alone accounts for 34% of cases among Cypriot women, compared to the EU average of 29%.
Two Major Awards in 2025
The dual awards highlight Kyriakides’s role in shaping Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan (EBCP), an ambitious, patient-centered strategy backed by €4 billion in EU funding, including €1.25 billion from the EU4Health programme (European Commission plan PDF).
In 2025 the European Commission’s review of the plan reported that the vast majority of actions announced since 2021 had been launched, with implementation progressing across prevention, research, and care. Progress includes prevention measures estimated to reduce up to 40% of cancer cases, and a shift toward gender-neutral HPV vaccination across all EU member states.
A Survivor’s Path to Leadership
Kyriakides’s journey to Brussels was shaped by personal experience. Diagnosed in her forties after her mother’s death from breast cancer, she turned private struggle into public advocacy. She founded Cyprus’s first breast-cancer movement and later led the European Breast Cancer Coalition, Europa Donna (2004–2006).
Her patient-first perspective carried into politics, first as a Cypriot MP and later as EU Health Commissioner (2019–2024). In that role she helped steer Europe through the COVID-19 response while advancing long-term cancer strategy.
Beyond Cyprus: Recognition and Responsibility
Across the Greek and Cypriot diaspora, including in the United States, communities have long supported health initiatives, from church fundraisers to AHEPA’s national health programs. Kyriakides’s honors reflect a broader truth: the fight against cancer is a shared global effort, and leadership from Cyprus can shape international health policy.
As Cyprus continues to face rising cancer cases, Kyriakides’s recognition in 2025 stands as both validation and a challenge: proof of what patient-centered advocacy can achieve, and a call to ensure that equitable cancer care becomes a reality for all.
Further Viewing
In this OncoDaily TV interview, Stella Kyriakides shares how her personal journey as a breast cancer survivor shaped her leadership of Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan, and discusses both its achievements and ongoing challenges.
Featured image: Former EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides is honored by the ECO Foundation in Madrid on September 29, 2025, for her international impact on cancer care.