Oncologist Berardi, ‘every year 55,000 new breast cancer diagnoses’

“With about 55,000 new diagnoses in a year, breast cancer represents almost a third of all cancers that affect women and 14.6% of all cancers diagnosed in our country. There are numerous treatments and innovative therapies available that have changed the clinical history of patients. And being one of the most frequent cancers, it must be faced with models that are able to combine the clinical and organizational aspects in a virtuous way. Breast cancer treatment in Breast Units, for example, has a major impact: it reduces 5-year mortality by 18%. In this context, the possibility of territorialization is now inserted as a response to the need for a complete and homogeneous treatment path. The “territory” is to be understood as a precious ally of oncology hospitals, because it allows and promotes a more widespread care also through a coordinated dislocation of health personnel who can operate in different care settings between hospital and territory in rotation ” Thus Rossana Berardi, professor of oncology at the Polytechnic University of Marche and director of the Oncology Clinic of Aou Ospedali Riuniti in Ancona, in her speech this morning at the Chamber of Deputies on the occasion of the presentation of the document “Onconnext – Breast cancer and oncology territorial, a necessary combination “, which for the first time sees the main associations of patients with breast cancer sign a paper on this topic: Andos onlus, Europa Donna Italia, Favo Donna, IncontraDonna onlus and Salute Donna onlus.” The pandemic – continues Berardi, who is also a director of the Italian Association of Medical Oncology and president of Women for On cology Italy – showed us how important the role of the territory is in taking care of cancer patients and, above all, how very important it is to avoid “health journeys” for patients and caregivers to reach treatment centers often hundreds of kilometers away from municipality of residence of the patient. But obviously that everything that is done in the hospital cannot be delegated to the territory. The territory can be entrusted with prevention, follow-up and some therapies that can be done at home “. For the oncologist,” a single direction is needed, which looks at the path that also passes through professional training. There must be no a series A oncology (of the hospital) and a series B oncology (of the territory) – warns Berardi – so that the patient can find the same team that can take care of the patient on the territory “. that we have problems – concludes Berardi – one above all, the lack of staff, especially medical personnel. So why not look at the Anglo-Saxon models in which there are intermediate figures who can help us in this taking charge? , which can help us to manage the patient, the toxicity of drugs to the administrative part. In a few days we will present the results of a survey on 1500 patients elaborated with the Aiom. A fact above all: the bureaucratic time is equal to the time spent by the specialist during a medical examination. We could do double if we were more and supported in a virtuous chain that does not wait for the expansion of places in the Faculty of Medicine or in the Schools of specializations, the benefits of which we will see in 5-11 years “.