Mayors sentinels of breast prevention

And he proposes mayors as sentinels of breast cancer prevention. In fact, Professor Schittulli emphasises that 'it would be appropriate for mayors to invite their citizens annually to perform the examinations that have already been scheduled, so that people can always remain healthy'. A proposal immediately taken up by Aiom Foundation president Saverio Cinieri: 'The mayors' call to screening can be a new vision and an important stimulus, because screening in Italy today does not reach the rates of other countries in the world. And after the pandemic, unfortunately, even in the northern regions, for example in Lombardy, there is a collapse in the adherence to screening, which have proven to be effective in making an early diagnosis'. Pinuccia Musumeci, president of Iosempredonna, also fully agrees: 'I think it is a very interesting proposal: if the municipality, and therefore the mayor, issues an invitation to adhere to screening, the person is more solicited and therefore more informed.

Diagnosis also means using genomic tests to prevent women from undergoing chemotherapy when it is not necessary. 'At the moment, only 50 per cent of women who would be entitled to it,' says Saverio Cinieri, president of the Aiom Foundation, 'have access to the possibility of having these tests. And the important thing is that, once the early diagnosis has been made, the woman has a road that leads her to the medical oncologist who, depending on the clinical situation, may or may not decide to subject the patient to chemotherapy. We have a very important piece of information from these tests that can tell us, by making a molecular diagnosis on the tumour, hence not on the patient, whether the woman has a high or low risk related to her biology. And this obviously concerns all those patients who have a grey area'.

"There are many initiatives that associations organise to give voice to the importance of embracing prevention to fight breast cancer," emphasises Iosempredonna president Pinuccia Musumeci, "a disease that is still very frightening. And there are various activities, but the most effective are those that send out a colourful and silent message of awareness, such as pink knitting, street furniture or illuminating monuments. We are happy to have coloured the lives of so many women with pink. Thanks in part to the events we have promoted since 2009, our area has the highest adherence to screening in Tuscany. And our region is among those that have already extended the age of the call from 45 to 74'. On the occasion of Breast Cancer Prevention Month, the Ministry of Culture, together with Komen Italia, has launched a series of initiatives to raise awareness and information on the disease by lighting up large monuments in pink, from the Colosseum to the Galleria Borghese.

Closing the circle is Professor Schitulli: 'The regions must invest in prevention, in early diagnosis, which is the only winning weapon against cancer, strengthened also by the availability of treatments and thus greater knowledge. We should fight to ensure that there is no territorial reality without this equipment, at least the basic ultrasound and mammography equipment. And then stimulate through an educational process all women to perform these examinations'. The strongest gap is between the North and the South of the country. 'In the North,' recalls Schitulli, 'we get more cancer, but we die less. And this is also true for breast cancer'.