In Italy, in 2020, 20% of deaths from Covid-19 concerned cancer patients, 99% of the operations for breast cancer, 99.5% of those for the prostate, 74.4% for the colorectal have been postponed. Not only. Screenings for breast, cervical and colorectal cancer recorded a reduction of two and a half million examinations in 2020 compared to 2019 and, on average, for the three secondary prevention programs, the delay is between 4 and 5 months.
These are the data contained in the 13th Report on the welfare conditions of cancer patients, presented as part of the XVI National Day of the cancer patient promoted by FAVO (Italian Federation of Voluntary Associations in Oncology).
In Italy, in 2020, 377 thousand new cases of cancer were estimated. “The programming method adopted by Europe must be incorporated in the now undelayable preparation of a new National Cancer Plan – he explains Giordano Beretta, President of AIOM (Italian Association of Medical Oncology) -. Today our country lacks it: the last draft dates back to 2013 and expired in 2016. The difficult management of Covid-19 has contributed to increasing awareness of the need for a profound technological and process renewal of cancer care, which it can represent a real driving force for the modernization of the entire National Health Service. The lesson of Covid-19 should not be wasted. The pandemic produced collateral damage and cancer patients were primarily affected. The reprogramming of health care activities must take into account tumors in the same way as time-dependent diseases where, unlike the cardiovascular specialty, time is not counted in minutes or hours, but in weeks or months that can impact on overall survival, disease free and quality of life “.
The European Plan to Combat Cancer and the Mission on Cancer mark a new era for oncology. The goal is to cope with the entire course of the disease and save 3 million human lives by 2030. The Plan is structured around four key areas of intervention: prevention, early detection of the disease, diagnosis and treatment, quality of life cancer patients and people cured of cancer. Each area is divided into strategic objectives, in turn supported by ten ‘flagship initiatives’ and multiple support actions. For each action or group of homogeneous actions, the relative implementation period is indicated. The European Plan aims to improve access for all to all therapies, including innovative ones, guaranteeing the economic sustainability of treatments. Overall, the Plan outlines a real working method, which defines and qualifies the new approach to oncological diseases.
The National Oncology Plan must necessarily follow the path indicated by Europe, providing for actions, timing, funding and regulatory and legislative changes to overcome the cancer emergency. This is also to respond concretely to the serious structural shortcomings of assistance to cancer patients made more evident than ever by the pandemic.
Among the priority objectives of the Plan there must be the financing of the Regional Oncological Networks, the strengthening of home and territorial oncological assistance, the technology for diagnostic screening, the uniform development of telemedicine, CAR-T therapy, the provision of forms of psychological support for cancer patients, the immediate activation of the Rare Tumors Network, the delivery of medicines at home and the implementation of the standard that recognizes the role of the family nurse.