The “tour” continues which is virtually bringing oncologists and representatives of the elderly to meet the health councilors of all regions, with the aim of starting a permanent oncology table. And today’s stage, the fifth, was in Campania. Where the regional oncology network already exists and has also received the applause of the national leaders of Italian medical oncology (Aiom). But where a lot can still be done, especially to improve the integration between hospital and territory.
“The Campania Oncological Network has achieved important results in terms of programming, especially hospital activities – says Pietro Buono, Director of the Health Directorate of the Campania Region -. Our “Achilles heel” is undoubtedly represented by territorial medicine. There has been no investment in this sector for too many years and this has led to numerous problems for citizens and patients. We have been working for some time to integrate territorial medicine with that of the hospital reference centers in the Region. Covid-19 has made this need even more urgent and we are available and ready to collaborate with specialists to find new solutions “.
“We are encountering problems of interaction between hospital and territory, especially in the most remote and isolated areas of our Region – continues Sandro Pignata, Scientific Director of the Campania Oncological Network -. This concerns in particular the home care of patients, which is a delicate but fundamentally important aspect of cancer medicine, especially in times of pandemics. We are convinced that telemedicine can make a contribution to implement services for patients and caregivers. For the hospital activity, the Network has allowed us to create, almost from nothing, a real multidisciplinary assistance. Throughout Campania, inter-company oncology groups are active which allow a fruitful collaboration between the various specialists ”.
“Other excellent results in recent years have been in the field of cancer prevention – adds Giuseppe Colantuoni, Regional Coordinator AIOM Campania -. After the end of the commissioner of the Region we managed to restart the screening programs by increasing the participation rates by citizens. We have also invested a lot of resources in HPV vaccination campaigns for young people. In the last year the Covid emergency has forced to interrupt, as in the rest of Italy, many of these health services. Only now are they starting again thanks to the planning of activities that a Regional Network allows ”.
“Campania is a fairly“ young ”network – underlines Giordano Beretta, AIOM National President -. However, it has achieved important results and faster than other similar realities of the Peninsula. It is therefore an excellent example of the benefits these healthcare facilities can bring to patients, caregivers, clinicians and citizens. Some aspects need to be improved especially in local medicine and in the implementation of telemedicine. Thanks to the excellent work done so far, it will be possible to better respond to the next challenges of the future ”.
“In the various meetings we are reporting the point of view of the elderly resident in our country”, says Roberto Messina, National President of Senior Italia FederAnziani: “Thanks to medical and scientific research, cancer is an increasingly chronic disease and therefore affects a number growing over 65. An elderly cancer patient is a frail patient who may have a good chance of survival. The usual levels of assistance must be guaranteed – he concludes – despite the great difficulties our healthcare is facing due to Covid ”.