On Sunday in 3,600 squares the azalea from Airc research ‘blooms’ for Mother’s Day

2023-05-09 09:34:53

The azalea of ​​the research of the Airc Foundation is back in bloom. Sunday 14 May, for Mother’s Day, 20,000 volunteers from the 17 regional committees return to over 3,600 squares to distribute the research azalea against a donation of 18 euros, to support the work of Airc researchers. The special Guide with information on the prevention of cancer ‘age by age’ will be delivered together with the plant. Since 1984, the Azalea has blossomed every year to give new strength to research against cancer affecting women, and over time it has become a symbol of women’s health. In 39 years, recalls Airc, it has made it possible to raise over 290 million euros.

In addition to finding the seedlings in the squares, it is also possible to surprise the mother from a distance, by ordering the azalea on Amazon from 28 April. “The strength of women” is the message that Airc wants to convey through this campaign throughout the month of May.

To deal with the disease it is important to be able to count on family and friends. Francesca tells it, face of the campaign together with her mother Antonella, a light always ready to illuminate the darkest moments. “They say ‘Mum is always Mum’ and I couldn’t agree more. She has been with me every minute she-she tells her-she since they told me I had Hodgkin’s lymphoma, she accompanied me to every visit, to every chemotherapy session, to every hospitalization; she was my strength. I always say that without my loved ones I wouldn’t have made it: my family, my partner, friends, the real ones, supported me every day during the battle against cancer. I’m honest when I say that alone I don’t know if I would have made it”. Along with Francesca’s, three other stories testify to the importance of sharing and affection in dealing with a cancer diagnosis.

Last year, over 185,000 new cases of cancer were estimated in our country in the female population, about 10,000 more than in 2019, the year before the outbreak of the pandemic. The most frequent cancers were those of the breast (55,700), colorectal (20,100), lung (14,600), uterus (10,200), thyroid (8,700), pancreas (7,900), non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (6,300), stomach ( 5,900), bladder (5,900), melanoma (5,700).

Together with screenings, which make it possible to identify precancerous lesions or the presence of a tumor when it is still in its initial stage, the main ally of patients is research. In recent years, the survival of women 5 years after cancer diagnosis has reached 65%, thanks to the important results obtained by scientists. Alberto Bardelli, scientific director of Ifom, the molecular oncology institute of the Airc Foundation and full professor at the University of Turin, with his research group has recently identified through preclinical studies a therapeutic strategy that could make tumors sensitive to immunotherapy of the colon in the metastatic phase, which in 95% of cases do not respond to this type of treatment. “Like bombers at night, tumors often hide and are not recognized by our immune system. We want to turn on their ‘parking lights’ so that they become visible. Our next goal is to take the results of this laboratory study into a clinical trial for the benefit of patients.”