Italy could have a definitive law for cancer oblivion by the end of the year, that is, the possibility for people who have recovered from cancer to cancel the negative ‘bureaucratic’ effects that the disease still leaves today in the search for work, in adoptions, in taking out a mortgage or insurance. The measure on the topic, already approved unanimously in August by the Chamber, is in fact awaiting approval by the Senate. A text that was proposed on the initiative of the CNEL, whose assembly dismissed him on March 21st, and which then found broad consensus among the deputies in a relatively short time.
The senators will have to take the next step now. “The Senate Health Committee has guaranteed us that it will schedule the measure within a few days. The law should become effective by November, immediately after approval by the Senate”, said Francesco Cognetti, president of the Federation of oncologists, cardiologists and hematologists (Foce), speaking at the meeting ‘Oncological oblivion: a battle of civilisation. Towards the law that protects recovered people from tumor pathologies’, which took place today in Rome at the headquarters of the CNEL, the National Council for the Economy and Labour. To achieve this result, explained the former Minister of Health Beatrice Lorenzin, it is necessary to “work so that the text be discussed at Palazzo Madama before the Budget which, as we know, monopolizes the debate. And it is something possible”, specified the vice-president of the Democratic Party senators, underlining the importance of the path already taken in the Chamber: “The fact that a result was achieved immediately at the beginning of this legislature is extremely positive. The best is the enemy of the good, so I hope that the rule is scheduled immediately and that it is left as it is, without any proposed modifications. It is urgent that it becomes operational.”
A suggestion, that of aiming for short times to arrive at the discussion before the budget law, was welcomed favorably by the president of the CNEL, Renato Brunetta. “It is obviously not in our power to define the Senate calendar – he underlined – but it is a hope that we subscribe to”. The text approved in the Chamber in August provides for “equal treatment, non-discrimination and guarantee of the right to be forgotten of people recovered from oncological pathologies” and indicates the conditions for “respecting the right to oncological oblivion in various areas (banking services , insurance, renewal of contracts, custody and adoption of minors, insolvency proceedings)”.
Health Minister Schillaci: “+37% alive after cancer in 10 years, 27% cured”
“In 2020 they were estimated at over 3 million six hundred thousand living patients after the diagnosis of oncological disease. This is approximately 37% more than what was observed 10 years earlier. And 27% of these people are considered ‘cured’, that is, their life expectancy is almost the same as that of those who have never been ill” the Minister of Health, Orazio Schillaci, recalled in a video message. sent to the meeting ‘Oncological oblivion: a battle of civilizations’. “Thanks to the development of diagnostics, screening and improved treatment capabilities, we have an ever-increasing number of people surviving after a cancer diagnosis. Yet, healing from a medical point of view does not yet correspond to legal and social healing,” added Schillaci. “Medicine advances call us to cultural and social change and to the advancement of civilization,” he underlines. And on oncological oblivion “once again, we must be grateful to the associations for having given voice to an instance whose reasons are so important and evident”.
“Unfortunately, those who recover from cancer still find themselves faced with high barriers that hinder the return to normality. It happens when looking for a job, in adoptions, when taking out a mortgage or insurance: all circumstances in which having had a tumor weighs like an indelible stigma.” The Minister of Health, Orazio Schillaci, said this in a video message sent to the meeting ‘Oncological oblivion: a battle of civilisation’, underway in Rome, at the headquarters of the CNEL, the body that promoted the law on the subject, which has already passed in the House and awaiting a vote in the Senate. “Putting an end to this discrimination is, in fact, a ‘battle of civilisation'”, added Schillaci.
“I strongly supported the law on oncological oblivion to guarantee rights and equal treatment to people recovering from cancer,” underlined Schillaci. “Together with the Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, and with the entire Government, we have followed the law’s process with great attention, ensuring the necessary support to proceed quickly. I consider the convergence of all political forces on this law to be a great achievement on a human and social level”. Moreover, “full social reintegration is crucial in the path of the cancer patient and reintegration into work is also among the objectives of the 2023 National Oncology Plan -2027 with which we aim to strengthen prevention, regional oncology networks, patient information, research. Because the fight against cancer is an absolute priority for the Ministry of Health. And above all it requires everyone’s contribution”.
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