"In the first 5 months of 2020, due to Covid-19, approximately 1 million and 400,000 fewer screening exams were performed than in the same period of 2019", but to date "no Region is fully operational in restarting screening , also due to administrative obstacles, and many have not even begun to recover the exams not carried out ".
This is the complaint that comes from Giordano Beretta, president of the Italian Association of Medical Oncology (Aiom) and vice president of Foce, the newly formed confederation that brings together for the first time experts in oncology, cardiology and hematology.
Today about 3.6 million citizens in Italy are alive after being diagnosed with cancer, an increase of 37% compared to 10 years ago. The risk, linked to the difficulties in recovering the screening, is that of nullifying the important progress achieved. "A very serious situation - says Beretta - because the delays could lead, in the coming months, to cases of cancer discovered at an advanced stage, requiring more aggressive treatments and more resources". In 2020, in our country, 377,000 new cases of cancer are estimated, patients who in many cases must undergo operations. But, observes Francesco Cognetti, president of Foce and of the Together Against Cancer Foundation, "the increase in Covid cases risks saturating ordinary hospital beds and intensive care to the detriment of the most fragile patients, leading to the cancellation of life-saving interventions" .
