The most serious pathologies represent a major source of concern for one in three families (32.5%). More than one in two (63.3%) cites cancer as the most common fear; followed by stroke with 10.9%, heart attack with 10.7% and multiple sclerosis with 10.1%. These are the data from a survey discussed by the experts who participated in the MetLife Human Health Summit, organized in Milan by MetLife, a leading global company in the offer of insurance products, on the theme 'Innovation and science meet people'.
Thanks to medical progress, the increase in early diagnoses and the quality of care – a note recalls – while cancer diagnoses are increasing, even in young people, fewer people die or the disease becomes chronic. Yet, even today a diagnosis is often considered a sort of sentence. “In reality this is not the case, the problem is also cultural – explains Paolo Veronesi, full professor in Surgery at the University of Milan, director of the Senology Program and of the Senology Division of the European Institute of Oncology (Ieo) and president of Fondazione Umberto Veronesi Ets – There are 3.6 million people diagnosed with cancer in Italy who have overcome this disease. There is a greater incidence linked to the increase in life expectancy: consider that in Italy in 2023 the cases are there were 395 thousand, 15 thousand more than the previous year”. Of course, diagnoses at a younger age are increasing, “but it is equally clear that today very precise tests that were once unthinkable are often carried out”, discovering the pathology much earlier.
According to Veronesi, the decline in mortality is affected by “two main factors: earlier diagnosis and very advanced medical therapies, such as those with molecular targets which are enriched with new drugs every year. We therefore treat even advanced diseases, with metastases in other locations, thanks to a series of drugs that alternate and often replace chemotherapy, avoiding its side effects”. Furthermore, “by investigating the genetic predisposition to the development of cancer, I believe that one day it will be possible to test the predisposition of each of us to develop cancer. Today, for example, we know that 8-10% of cases of breast cancer have behind a genetic mutation”. An important role is reserved for artificial intelligence, both in the diagnosis and treatment phases. “Think of increased early diagnosis – underlines Federico Cabitza, professor of Human-Computer Interaction and decision support at the University of Milan-Bicocca and senior researcher at Irccs Galeazzi Sant'Ambrogio Hospital in Milan – AI trained on images is capable to identify subclinical signs that are difficult to see in the normal diagnostic process. This allows us to identify patterns, recurring patterns.”
At the moment on the market “there are around 700 medical devices that can be labeled as Ai – explains Cabitza – Most of them concern radiology and therefore oncological diagnosis, for the identification or characterization of even very small tumors. Of course it is very difficult to make predictions: this kind of systems is changing at an unprecedented rate”, but artificial intelligence is truly “capable of improving people's lives”. In any case, “the relationship between doctor and patient is multidimensional – warns the expert – it cannot be replaced by putting a PC screen in its place”.
The tumor – continues the note – interferes with all areas of the patient's daily life, from friend and family relationships to financial and work relationships. Severe levels of psychological distress, with anxious-depressive symptoms, affect from 10-15% to 20-40% of cases. “The word cancer is still very scary, the diagnosis generates a shock similar to that following a strong earthquake – observes Sabina Rasia, psychologist at the Ant Italia Onlus Foundation, specialized in free home care for cancer patients – The emotional crisis can take the form of a trauma: cancer pain impacts the psyche and implies radical changes. Chronicity also represents a challenge that one must live with. “The family is also impacted. In Italy, out of 7 million caregivers, 3 assist patients with oncological pathologies – specifies the expert – You become a caregiver out of necessity and not everyone has a natural disposition to be close to the patient”. The problem within the problem is the lonely people “for whom society must take responsibility” with a commitment that “we call 'eubiosia', that is, a dignified life guaranteed by the continuity of listening, the presence and that support for hope that we must ensure even when there is no we can no longer talk about healing.”
Alongside medical progress, however, there is a welfare system that struggles to cover all the needs of a population increasingly in need of immediate responses. “MetLife is not just an insurance company – declares Maurizio Taglietti, General Manager of MetLife in Italy – but a company that is based on values that have remained unchanged over time: experience, solidity, constancy, integrity, prevention, responsibility. With 150 years of history , we insure 100 million customers worldwide and we are present in 40 countries including Italy where we have been operating for 30 years. By listening to consumers and considering social and demographic changes, we have decided to strengthen our health offer with a particular focus on those serious problems which unfortunately affect men, women, young people and the elderly without distinction. And it is precisely from the attention paid to the topic of health that the idea of this cultural and scientific dissemination event on issues related to prevention and new treatments was born, all in compliance with our mission 'staying close to people to build a safer and more peaceful future'”.
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