Health Minister Michalis Hadjipandella said on Saturday that his goal is to strengthen public hospitals and oncology centers.
Speaking at a roundtable discussion at a meeting organized by AKEL on the new European Strategy for Cancer and the Cypriot reality, the Minister of Health said that the implementation of prevention programs and the strengthening of the ability of people to adopt a healthy lifestyle can bring about significant improvements in disease prevention so as not to increase the incidence of cancer.
He then listed the actions of the Ministry of Health for the prevention and treatment of cancer, mentioning the anti-smoking campaign, the campaign for prostate, breast, bowel, genital and other cancers.
He added that the Ministry of Health, at the same time promotes the expansion of secondary prevention programs, developing organized population programs, which have been proven to contribute to a 30% reduction in cancer mortality.
He said that the Ministry of Health specifically promotes the expansion of the pan-Cypriot screening program for colon cancer, adding that the priority is the prevention and treatment of breast cancer, the most common female cancer, and said that according to European guidelines, the Ministry the age extension of the Population Early Breast Cancer Screening Program at the ages of 45-69.
He characteristically said that according to the Cyprus Cancer Archive, in 2020 604 new cases of breast cancer were recorded in women and 6 new cases in men.
In addition to the above actions, the Ministry of Health promoted the preparation of a law for the provision of palliative care services to patients in order to join the GESS, continued.
Mr. Hadjipandella also mentioned that the Ministry of Health recently appointed the National Cancer Committee, which is the first board of the National Cancer Institute, which will be the scientific body of expertise in cancer issues to undertake the organization and coordination of all activities concerning the treatment of the disease.
Finally, he said that the main concern of the Ministry of Health is the cancer patients who continue to fight the disease with dignity, to feel that the State can guarantee their reliable, quality and effective care.
AKEL's firm position is that the fight against cancer goes through the strengthening of public health, said on his part the AKEL Parliamentary Representative George Loukaidis, adding that the creation of high quality Radiotherapy Centers and the existence of public Oncology Departments in all Cyprus is an insurmountable need.
He also said that the situation with regard to the treatment of cancer patients is becoming even more difficult, as the pandemic found hospitals kneeling by the austerity policies promoted for years by the Brussels directorate, forcing states to reduce spending on health and to proceed with the privatization of the industry.
He also referred to the action of AKEL and the group of the European United Left, which after pressure from the European Parliament, in June 2020, managed to approve by the Plenary, the creation of a new special committee (BECA) with the condition of mandating the formation of an integrated European strategy to fight cancer.
The party's MEP, George Georgiou, shadow rapporteur of the BECA report, said that he was working with AKEL to ensure that the new strategy would really meet the needs of cancer patients, offering effective solutions to various problems and promoting comprehensive proposals to strengthen its prevention. diagnosis.
"After intense processes, we managed to get an overwhelming majority of the European Parliament to vote in favor of a comprehensive report with very important references," he said, adding that the text was inspired by the anthropocentric principles we had set for the left.
Among other things, he stated that the main goal of the report is to fight inequalities in terms of prevention, early diagnosis, access to quality care and the possibility of reintegration into society, and stresses the urgent need for a European Charter of the Rights of Cancer patients at each stage. care.
The Head of the Health Department of KE AKEL, Chrysanthos Georgiou, presented 36 presentations on all aspects of the treatment of cancer and the impact it has.