Keywords
human dignity
Cancer Survivors
discrimination
How to Cite
Abstract
This paper examines the Right to be Forgotten for Cancer Survivors (Oncological Right to be Forgotten) as an indispensable legal instrument for promoting human dignity, amidst significant medical advancements and rising survival rates. The research is premised on the fact that clinical recovery does not automatically eliminate the social and economic stigmas associated with the disease, investigating persistent discriminatory practices regarding access to credit and insurance. Through a dogmatic, constitutional, and comparative approach, the ethical foundations of this right are analyzed, with emphasis on European regulatory frameworks that impose objective time limits on the use of past health data. It is argued that perpetuating the status of "former patient" violates the free development of personality and undermines the effectiveness of fundamental rights. The study concludes on the necessity of legally recognizing the Oncological Right to be Forgotten as a mechanism for full social reintegration, ensuring material equality and effective privacy protection for cancer survivors.
References
Allemani, Claudia et al., Global Surveillance of Trends in Cancer Survival 2000–14 (CONCORD-3), 391 Lancet 1023 (2018).
American Cancer Society, Cancer Facts & Figures 2024 (Am. Cancer Soc’y 2024), https://www.cancer.org/research/cancer-facts-statistics.html.
Australia, Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth). Available at: https://www.legislation.gov.au.
Bailo, Paolo et al., Freedom from the Stigma of Oncologic Disease: Legislative and Ethical Aspects of the Right to Be Forgotten in Oncology, 143 Minerva Forensic Med. 57 (2023), https://doi.org/10.23736/S2784-8922.23.01844-7.
Barbosa, Mafalda Miranda & Tomás Prieto Álvarez, O Direito ao Livre Desenvolvimento da Personalidade: Sentido e Limite (Gestlegal 2020).
Belgium, Loi du 22 avril 2019 modifiant la loi du 4 avril 2014 relative aux assurances en ce qui concerne le droit à l’oubli, Moniteur belge, May 7, 2019.
Belgium, Loi du 30 octobre 2022 modifiant la loi du 4 avril 2014 relative aux assurances en matière de droit à l’oubli, Moniteur belge, Nov. 18, 2022.
Belgium, Loi du 4 avril 2014 relative aux assurances, Moniteur belge, Apr. 30, 2014.
Brazil, Instituto Nacional de Câncer (INCA), Como se Comportam as Células Cancerosas? (2022), https://www.gov.br/inca/pt-br/assuntos/cancer/ como-surge-o-cancer/como-se-comportam-as-celulas-cancerosas.
Brazil, Instituto Nacional de Câncer (INCA), O Que É Câncer? (2022), https://www.gov.br/inca/pt-br/assuntos/cancer/o-que-e-cancer.
Brazil, Lei No. 14.238, de 19 de novembro de 2021, Diário Oficial da União (Nov. 22, 2021).
Brazil, Projeto de Lei No. 4007/2019, Câmara dos Deputados, https://www.camara.leg.br/proposicoesWeb/fichadetramitacao?idProposicao=2323050.
Cooley, Thomas M., A Treatise on the Law of Torts, or the Wrongs Which Arise Independently of Contract (Callaghan & Co. 1879).
Dantas, Paulo Roberto de Figueiredo, Curso de Direito Constitucional (8th ed., Foco 2025).
European Cancer Organisation, Cancer Survivors Have a Right for Their Cancer to Be Forgotten by Financial Service Providers, https://www.europeancancer.org/content/survivorship-cancer-survivors-have-a-right-to-be-forgotten.html.
European Union, Council of Europe & European Court of Human Rights, Manual on European Data Protection Law (2014).
France, Loi No. 2016-41 du 26 janvier 2016 relative à la modernisation de notre système de santé, Journal officiel de la République française (Jan. 27, 2016).
France, Loi No. 2022-270 du 28 février 2022 pour un accès plus juste, plus simple et plus transparent au marché de l’assurance emprunteur, Journal officiel de la République française (Mar. 1, 2022).
Greece, Hellenic Cancer Federation (ELLOK), Proposals for the Adoption of the Right to Be Forgotten for Cancer Survivors in the Insurance Sector (2024–2025), https://ellok.org.
Hanahan, Douglas, Hallmarks of Cancer: New Dimensions, 12 Cancer Discovery 31 (2022).
International Agency for Research on Cancer, Cancer Tomorrow (WHO 2023), https://gco.iarc.fr/tomorrow/en.
Ireland, Central Bank (Amendment) Bill 2025. Available at: https://www.oireachtas.ie.
Italy, Legge 7 dicembre 2023, n. 193, Gazzetta Ufficiale della Repubblica Italiana No. 294 (Dec. 18, 2023).
Lawler, Mark et al., Ending Financial Discrimination for Cancer Survivors: Embedding the Right to Be Forgotten in Legislation Across Europe, 25 Lancet Oncology 1123 (2024).
Luxembourg, Convention “Droit à l’oubli” (2020).
Luxembourg, Loi du 6 février 2025 modifiant la loi du 7 décembre 2015 sur le secteur des assurances, Journal officiel du Grand-Duché de Luxembourg (Feb. 7, 2025).
Luxembourg, Loi du 7 décembre 2015 sur le secteur des assurances, Mémorial A – Journal officiel du Grand-Duché de Luxembourg (Dec. 11, 2015).
Malta, Public Consultation on the Introduction of the Right to Be Forgotten for Cancer Survivors (2025), https://meae.gov.mt.
Matic, Andreea Elena & Valentina Cornea, The Right to Be Forgotten in the Online Environment, 18 Acta Universitatis Danubius Juridica 109 (2022).
Napoletano, Gabriele et al., Right to Be Forgotten: European Instruments to Protect the Rights of Cancer Survivors, 95 Acta Biomedica Scientia 1 (2024), https://doi.org/10.23750/abm.v95i3.15877.
Netherlands, Besluit van 2 november 2020, Staatsblad No. 453 (2020).
Pinto, Carlos Alberto da Mota, António Pinto Monteiro & Paulo Mota Pinto, Teoria Geral do Direito Civil (Gestlegal 2020).
Piovesan, Flávia, Direitos Humanos e o Direito Constitucional Internacional (23rd ed., SRV 2025).
Piovesan, Flávia, Temas de Direitos Humanos (13th ed., SRV 2025).
Portugal, Lei No. 75/2021, de 18 de novembro, Diário da República No. 224 (Nov. 18, 2021).
Prihantono, M. F., Breast Cancer Resistance to Chemotherapy, 70 Annals of Medicine & Surgery (2021).
Romania, Legea No. 293 din 3 noiembrie 2022 privind prevenirea și combaterea cancerului, Monitorul Oficial al României (2022).
Romania, Legea No. 46 din 21 ianuarie 2003 privind drepturile pacientului, Monitorul Oficial al României (2003).
Scocca, Grazia & Françoise Meunier, A Right to Be Forgotten for Cancer Survivors: A Legal Development Expected to Reflect the Medical Progress in the Fight Against Cancer, 25 Journal of Cancer Policy 100246 (2020).
Slovenia, Zakon o pravici oseb po prebolelem raku do enakega dostopa do zavarovalnih in kreditnih produktov, Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No. 102/24 (2024).
Soares, Ricardo Maurício Freire, O Princípio Constitucional da Dignidade da Pessoa Humana (2d ed., Saraiva Jur 2024).
Spain, Ley 50/1980, de 8 de octubre, de Contrato de Seguro, Boletín Oficial del Estado No. 250 (Oct. 17, 1980).
Spain, Real Decreto-ley 5/2023, de 28 de junio, Boletín Oficial del Estado No. 154 (June 29, 2023).
The Health Policy Partnership, Life After Cancer: Why the “Right to Be Forgotten” Matters, https://www.healthpolicypartnership.com/life-after-cancer-why-the-right-to-be-forgotten-matters/.
United States, Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008, Pub. L. No. 110-233, 122 Stat. 881.
United States, National Cancer Institute, SEER Cancer Stat Facts: Survival (2023), https://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/.
Vasconcelos, Pedro Pais de, Direito de Personalidade (Almedina 2019).
Warren, Samuel D. & Louis D. Brandeis, The Right to Privacy, 4 Harv. L. Rev. 193 (1890).
Wilson, T. R., D. B. Longley & P. G. Johnston, Chemoresistance in Solid Tumours, 17 Annals of Oncology (2006).
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Copyright (c) 2026 João Alexandre Silva Alves Guimarães, Malu Mariana Damasceno Góes