This article explores the changes that are likely to occur by the end of this century in the pattern of cancer as a disease, in its treatment and in the care for patients and their families in order to identify the kind of educational preparation that cancer nurses will require to meet their clients' needs. A recent European initiative, which has sought to achieve consensus on courses for nurses in cancer care across Europe, is seen to be an important step towards the development of a coordinated European approach to cancer‐nursing education. The issues that European coordination raise, and the exciting potential for cancer‐nursing education, are discus