WITHIN the next five years, a quarter of the Italian population will be over 65 years old. General aging will further explode the demand for cancer health care. An increasingly chronic disease, but which, as such, must also be addressed outside the oncology wards. This is the message that emerged today during the online meeting “The State of Health of the National Health System”, organized by the Professional Association of Oncological Aesthetics (Apeo).
The point is to rebuild a system that knows how to take care of the patient during and after cancer, with a 360 degree attention to the person. “We must not abandon the cancer patient once the treatment in the hospital is finished and we must not stop only at the administration of anti-cancer therapies”, underlines Carolina Redaelli, President of Apeo: “The management of side effects and rehabilitation is also increasingly important in order to thus allowing the patient to return to a normal life ”.
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Some of the typical damages of anticancer therapies are those affecting the skin and nails. “It is necessary to make available to patients qualified treatments that can improve psycho-physical well-being and therefore also the response to treatment”, adds Davide Petruzzelli, Coordinator Favo – Hematological Neoplasms: “There are over three million men and women living in Italy with a diagnosis of cancer. Helping them even outside the hospital is a priority if we want ours to be truly a universal health service and to fully protect the constitutional right to health ”. APEO specialists in oncological aesthetics are present in many hospitals throughout the country: “Having a competent and prepared professional figure at your disposal – continues Redaelli – represents an added value to better deal with the consequences of therapies, necessary to combat complex diseases such as oncological. We are therefore convinced that we must strengthen our presence both inside and outside the health structures ”.
Oncology aesthetics might seem like a futile topic, but it’s not at all. Taking care of psycho-physical well-being does not mean, in fact, forgetting or leaving behind other major problems that require a structural solution. Such as the need to hire young doctors: “For years there has been little staff renewal”, underlined Senator Maria Rizzotti, Member of the Health Commission at Palazzo Madama: “It is a fundamental action and can no longer be postponed if we want ensure the stability of our national health system “.
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Also present at the webinar was the Italian League For The Fight Against Cancer – LILT, which recalled another important problem: “Many equipment for breast exams are outdated”, concludes Giuseppe D’Ermo, co-coordinator of the LILT breast task force: “They should be replaced and investments are needed to do so”.