World Cancer Day: the right to be forgotten in oncology

On February 4, World Cancer Day, we discuss the right to be forgotten in relation to cancer. This right aims to prevent discrimination against patients who have suffered from cancer, especially in certain areas where having suffered from a long and complex illness for years is a hindrance.

Those who have survived the disease are claiming this right to be forgotten in relation to cancer so that they do not suffer discrimination and their medical data does not hold them back in areas such as finance, employment, and social life.

Rafael Vallet, a partner in the family law department, explains what this right consists of at the Science Media Center: “It guarantees that an insurance or banking entity cannot take medical history into account as a pre-existing condition as long as five years have passed since the end of the illness and there has been no relapse during that period.” 

Our expert lawyer adds the consequences of this regulation, such as: “nullity of clauses, conditions, or agreements that exclude one of the parties for having had cancer; prohibition of discrimination in insurance contracts; elimination of the obligation to declare whether one has had cancer in order to take out any insurance policy.”