All-round fight against cancer, from primary to secondary prevention, support for research and the availability of innovative drugs, streamlining of procedures to make new molecules available to patients in the shortest possible time once approved by the EMA, return to life after the disease, the fight against regional disparities and the availability of adequate funds against cancer. These are the main objectives of the parliamentary Intergroup “Oncology: Prevention, Research and Innovation”, which was born today. It is the first Intergroup of the XIX legislature dedicated to every aspect of the fight against cancer.
“Every year, around 377,000 new cases of cancer and 30,000 blood cancers are diagnosed in Italy – states Senator Tilde Minasi, promoter of the Intergroup -. The high level of oncological assistance in our country is evidenced by the 5-year survival rates, which reach 65% in women and 59% in men. In addition, over six years (2015-2021), there was an overall decline in cancer mortality of 10% in men and 8% in women. However, the pandemic has caused serious delays in assistance to cancer patients and in prevention programmes, which have only been partially recovered”.
Due to the pandemic emergency – reads a note – screenings for breast, uterine cervix and colorectal cancer recorded a reduction of two and a half million exams in 2020 compared to 2019. It has been shown that the 40% of cancer cases and 50% of oncological deaths can be avoided by acting on preventable risk factors, in particular on lifestyles (no smoking, correct diet and constant physical activity). In our country, however, 31.5% of the population does not practice any sport, 32.5% is overweight and 10.4% is obese.
“The purpose of the Parliamentary Intergroup is to foster, also through regulatory interventions, a new awareness and attention towards lifestyles, screening and the availability of the best therapies, for the benefit of citizens, cancer patients, associations and scientific societies , who will be involved in the activities of the Intergroup – says Minasi -. The aims also include the promotion and support of legislative and social initiatives, which focus attention on aspects of primary importance in oncology, such as those concerning the health, demographic, infrastructural and tertiary sectors”.
But “the concrete problems that patients and family members have to face must also be considered, from the loss of productivity to the difficulties of reintegration into the world of work. The Intergroup will see the adhesion of an increasing number of senators and deputies from all sides – concludes the senator – because the fight against cancer concerns each of us. But it will also involve representatives of scientific societies and patient associations in an active and decisive role”.
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