The right to be forgotten in the context of cancer: how Europe is putting an end to discrimination following cancer

Italian legislation, however, provides for a differentiated system, which takes into account the type and stage of the disease and, in some cases, the patient’s age. For certain types of cancer, the waiting times are significantly shorter and can be as little as one year. This applies to stage I and II breast cancer, stage I colorectal cancer and testicular cancer, regardless of age. For thyroid cancer, the period is one year for women diagnosed before the age of 55 and for men before the age of 45, excluding anaplastic tumours. For melanoma and cervical cancer, the period is six years for those diagnosed after the age of 21. Five years are provided for cancer of the body of the uterus, Hodgkin’s lymphoma diagnosed before the age of 45, and acute lymphoblastic and myeloid leukaemias, regardless of age. For stage II and III colorectal cancer, diagnosed after the age of 21, the period is seven years.

The thresholds were set out in the Ministry of Health decree of 22 March 2024 and subsequently updated by the decree of 28 November 2024. The latter decree also specified that, in the absence of recurrence, the end of active treatment is defined as the date of the last anti-cancer drug treatment, radiotherapy or surgical procedure.

The scope of the law extends beyond insurance policies linked to loans. The legislation covers the conclusion and renewal of contracts relating to banking, financial, investment and insurance services, as well as any other type of contract – including those between private individuals – where health information may influence their terms and conditions. The protection also extends to adoption and foster care procedures, access to competitive and selection procedures, employment and vocational training.

In the financial and insurance sectors, banks, credit institutions, insurance companies and intermediaries may not request information on previous medical conditions once the relevant criteria have been met, nor may they obtain such information from sources other than the policyholder. Information already provided may not be used to assess the risk of the transaction or the customer’s creditworthiness. To have such information deleted, the data subject must submit a certificate attesting to their right to be forgotten in relation to cancer: operators have 30 days from receipt to comply.

Certification may be requested from an accredited public or private healthcare facility, a doctor within the National Health Service specialising in the relevant medical condition, a general practitioner or a paediatrician of one’s choice.

A further development took place in January 2026, when IVASS, the insurance supervisory authority, adopted Regulation No. 169, amending the regulations governing the distribution of insurance products and the related disclosure requirements. The new provisions enhance transparency during the pre-contractual phase and stipulate that the right to be forgotten in relation to cancer must be explicitly explained in the information documents provided to customers.

At European level, according to data updated in July 2026 from the ‘Ending Discrimination against Cancer Survivors’ initiative, eleven Member States have introduced legislative measures to protect cancer survivors from discrimination in access to financial and insurance services. These are France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Cyprus, Italia, Spain, Slovenia, Malta and Ireland. The models adopted, however, differ both in terms of the time required to become eligible and the scope of the cover provided.

France was the first European country to introduce specific legislation, in 2016. Under the Act of 28 February 2022, the period within which this right may be exercised has been reduced from ten to five years from the end of treatment, provided there have been no recurrences. This protection applies to all cancers, regardless of the age at diagnosis.

The French reform has also introduced another significant measure: from June 2022, banks may not require a health questionnaire for insured loans of up to 200,000 euros, provided the loan is repaid before the applicant reaches the age of 60. The aim is to allow access to insurance cover on the same terms, without any additional premiums or health-related exclusions.

Belgium, too, has gradually extended its protection measures. The law was passed in April 2019 and came into force in February 2020. Initially, the period was set at ten years, but from 1 January 2025 it has been reduced to five, regardless of age at diagnosis. There is also a differentiated scale for certain conditions: for early-stage breast cancer, for example, the period is reduced to one year.

In the Netherlands, the legislation has been in force since 1 January 2021. The standard period is ten years from the end of treatment, provided there are no relapses, but this is reduced to five years for those diagnosed before the age of 21. Here too, there are tables setting out shorter periods for certain types of cancer. However, the Dutch model sets a limit on the amount of the mortgage for which protection applies: €278,004 per person.

Portugal introduced the right to be forgotten on 1 January 2022, with legislation covering mortgages and consumer loans, as well as compulsory and voluntary insurance linked to loans. The general time limit is ten years from the end of treatment, reduced to five years for those diagnosed before the age of 21.

The law prohibits the increase of insurance premiums or the introduction of exclusions from cover on the grounds of a pre-existing condition, and places restrictions on the collection and processing of medical information prior to the conclusion of the contract. In April 2026, Portugal also broadened this protection to include people with hepatitis C, HIV and diabetes.

Romania was the first country in Central and Eastern Europe to introduce this type of protection, with a law passed in July 2022. The standard period is seven years from the end of treatment, which is reduced to five years for those diagnosed before the age of 18. A distinctive feature of the legislation is that patients may refuse to provide documentation relating to previous cancer treatment once they have acquired this right. Insurance companies are also under an explicit obligation to inform their customers of this option.

Slovenia has also adopted a specific law, which was passed in November 2024 and came into force on 18 June 2025. The standard period is seven years from the end of treatment, provided there are no relapses, and is reduced to five years for those diagnosed before the age of 21. Lower thresholds apply for certain types and stages of cancer. The Slovenian legislation is also notable for extending protection to other conditions, including HIV and hepatitis C.

In Spain, the right to be forgotten in relation to cancer was introduced in 2023 and provides for a general time limit of five years from full recovery. This protection covers access to financial and insurance services, including mortgages and health insurance policies.

“Patients are not required to disclose a previous diagnosis in their medical history,” explains Federico de Montalvo Jääskeläinen, vice-president of the Spanish Association of Health Law (AEDS). According to the legal expert, the principle is that, after five years of complete remission, the cancer should no longer be considered a specific risk factor in the assessment of the applicant.

Spanish legislation, however, still raises a number of unresolved interpretative issues. One concerns cancers that have become chronic, which can be kept under control with treatment but are not completely cured. According to the current interpretation, these patients remain excluded from the right to be forgotten. Another issue concerns adjuvant therapies, administered after the main treatment to reduce the risk of recurrence: there is debate as to whether they should be considered part of the course of treatment for the purposes of calculating the five-year period.

De Montalvo also shares a personal account. He had been diagnosed with cancer at the age of 19 and, when he applied for health cover through his professional body, he found himself excluded from the policy. “I challenged that decision five years later and was proved right,” he says. By presenting a medical certificate confirming the time that had elapsed, he managed to have the exclusion removed. The incident dates back to 1992, long before the introduction of specific legislation. Years later, however, he encountered further difficulties when trying to take out private insurance.

Ireland, on the other hand, is the latest country to have introduced a specific law, which comes into force on 15 October 2026. Coverage begins five years after the end of active treatment, provided the person has remained in complete remission throughout that period. It applies to mortgage insurance policies covering amounts up to 650,000 euros. Prior to the reform, only a voluntary code of conduct for the insurance sector was in force.

Not all European countries have chosen to introduce legislation. In Greece, in 2024, a code of conduct was adopted, drawn up jointly by the insurance sector, the Ministry of Finance and cancer patient organisations. It stipulates that insurers must not use a previous diagnosis ten years after the end of treatment, a period reduced to five years for those who fell ill before the age of 18. This protection applies to life insurance policies linked to loans of up to 300,000 euros.

In Luxembourg, an agreement has been in place since 2020 between the State and the insurance sector, which sets a period of ten years, reduced to five for diagnoses received before the age of 18. In 2025, a bill was tabled to introduce a five-year threshold.

Bulgaria, on the other hand, is working on introducing the ‘right to be forgotten’ through an amendment to the Consumer Credit Act, which is necessary to transpose European Directive 2023/2225. The government’s proposal stipulates that information relating to a previous cancer diagnosis may no longer be used for insurance purposes in connection with credit agreements ten years after the completion of treatment.

This threshold has drawn criticism from the Bulgarian Ombudsman, Velislava Delcheva, who believes that ten years is too long. “The ten-year limit is disproportionate to the risk faced by financial institutions in the case of small, short-term loans,” she observed, emphasising that this means people who have recovered from cancer risk being denied access to the finance they need, even for urgent matters such as home repairs or paying bills. Her proposal is to reduce the period to five years or to introduce a system that varies according to the age at diagnosis and the type of cancer.

The debate highlights a wider issue: for how long can a previous diagnosis be considered relevant when assessing insurance risk? And to what extent is it justified to maintain a distinction between those who have had cancer and those who have never had it?

An initial attempt at harmonisation comes from European Directive 2023/2225 on consumer credit. The directive requires Member States to prohibit the use of information relating to a previous cancer diagnosis for insurance linked to credit agreements after a specified period following the completion of treatment. The maximum period is set at 15 years, but individual countries may opt for shorter periods.

The directive therefore allows Member States a degree of flexibility, which results in a fragmentation of protection: the timeframes, the financial products covered and the criteria for identifying the medical conditions eligible for shorter periods vary.

It also remains to be seen what the actual impact of the new regulations will be on access to credit and on insurance terms. There is as yet no comparable framework across all European countries that would make it possible to quantify how many more mortgages and loans have been granted, or by how much premiums have fallen for people who have recovered from cancer.

The aim, however, is clear: to ensure that a cancer diagnosis does not continue to be a factor leading to exclusion, even once the disease has been overcome.

*This article is part of the European collaborative journalism project “Pulse” and was produced with contributions from Martina Bozukova (Mediapool, Bulgaria), Francesca Barca (Voxuerop, France) and Laura Camacho (El Confidencial, Spain)