The most powerful weapon against cancer remains prevention, starting right from the school desks.
The numbers say it all: as many as 90,000 cases of cancer a year could be avoided if correct lifestyles were adopted, from healthy eating to constant physical activity.
This message was relaunched by the Minister of Health Orazio Schillaci on the eve of the National Week for Cancer Prevention, promoted by the Italian League for the fight against tumors (Lilt) from 18 to 26 March.
Encouraging correct lifestyles, Schillaci said on the occasion of the presentation of the initiative to the Ministry of Health, "is the common commitment that we relaunch. Fight against smoking, correct and healthy diet and regular physical activity are the three pillars of primary prevention.
Starting from what we eat and how we eat". healthy nutrients and is useful in counteracting the onset of various chronic non-communicable diseases.
And yet - he notes - only 20% adopt it".
Schillaci then recalled that the National Oncology Plan had already been approved and now, he announced, "we are focusing a lot on prevention and on trying to finance a plan to get to lung cancer screening which is a big killer".
As for the lower adherence to screening in some Regions, "we must be proactive and try to make everyone understand the importance of prevention. General practitioners must be involved - he urged -".
Prevention, however, must be taught from an early age.
For this reason, a table is at work between the Ministries of Health, Education, Agriculture and Sport to arrive at inserting an hour dedicated to teaching correct lifestyles starting from elementary schools,
After Covid, it's time to go back to talking about cancer and prevention also according to the president Lilt Francesco Schittulli, who proposes a daily bulletin on cancer.
"We never talk about a cancer epidemic - he underlined -. Instead, it would be useful to have a daily bulletin, as it was for Covid-19: in this way we would see that every day in Italy there are 1071 new cancer diagnoses and 476 deaths ".
This, he explained, "not to generate fear but to stimulate the Regions to do more since there are currently too many differences at the territorial level and the central action of the ministry should be strengthened".
40% of cancer cases can be prevented by acting precisely on modifiable factors and lifestyles: "Today, we register 65% of cancer curability,
Starting from these assumptions,
until 26 March
the provincial Lilt associations, distributed throughout Italy, will be committed to informing, discussing and spreading positive messages to encourage healthy lifestyle choices, such as the adoption of a healthy and balanced diet, the practice of regular physical activity and smoking cessation.
During the Week for Oncological Prevention it will also be possible, by making a reservation at the
toll-free number SOS Lilt 800 998877
, free check-ups at participating Lilt centres.
This year the campaign has the face of starred chef Giorgio Locatelli: "Italian cuisine is often associated with the Mediterranean diet, therefore with a healthy and balanced diet; our commitment is to continue to insist on this strong point, which it is also recognized abroad," he said.
And the Italian extra virgin olive oil continues to be the symbol of the initiative: it will be distributed in 250 ml bottles, thanks to the collaboration with the Calabria IGP Oil Consortium, with a donation to support the local activities of the Lilt.
