Over 60 thousand signatures collected in three months, with the aim of reaching 100 thousand to be delivered by the summer to the President of the Republic Mattarella, to Prime Minister Draghi and to the Minister of Health Speranza: this is the first result of the campaign to obtain a law for the Right to oncological oblivion, with the accessions collected on the website destroying rightallobliotumori.org. The aim is to obtain a law of a few articles within the legislature. Today, in Italy, almost a million people have recovered from a tumor but, explain the oncologists, having to declare their past illness they risk suffering discrimination in access to services such as the stipulation of insurance and mortgages, the adoption of a child and hiring on the job.
The standard, requested by the AIOM Foundation (Italian Association of Medical Oncology) through the initiative “I am not my tumor”, would allow Italy to follow the virtuous example of other countries (France, Luxembourg, Belgium, Holland and Portugal) which already protect former cancer patients with an ad hoc law. The project, which started in January with the collection of signatures and a social campaign, will now be enriched with further activities, such as the collection of signatures in hospitals and two ‘health walks’ to raise awareness, which will take place in breaking latest news and Rome during the summer.
“3.6 million people in Italy are living with a cancer diagnosis. 27% of them, about one million, are cured.
These are important numbers, which we can no longer ignore – says Giordano Beretta, president of the AIOM Foundation -. Now we ask everyone to make an effort to spread the initiative “. Thanks to the innovation of treatments, today” many cancers can be treated or become chronic – notes Saverio Cinieri, president of AIOM -. This explains the increase in people living even many years after a diagnosis. Supporting this campaign means offering former patients the opportunity to live a life free from the memory of the disease “. On the issue of oncological oblivion, there is already a bill in the Senate, presented by Senator Boldrini: I hope that it has a rapid path because the Legislature will end in a few months and the risk is that it will end up in the ‘oblivion’. The collection of signatures has instead activated a strong movement of citizens who are asking – he concludes – for a law in the short term “.
– THE VOICE OF PATIENTS
“The results obtained in these three months highlight the need for a regulation that protects people who have been ill – underlines Antonella Campana, vice president of the AIOM Foundation and member of the volunteer coordination of IncontraDonna -. Italy must follow in the footsteps of France, Luxembourg, Belgium, Holland and Portugal. We have studied their laws and we ask the institutions not to waste any more time: now it is their turn to engage in this battle of civilization. We receive every day solicitations from patients and families who have already had to overcome a disease and now find themselves experiencing scientifically unjustified discrimination. ” “Discriminating someone for their illness turns the tumor into a fault – adds Monica Forchetta, member of the Board of Directors of the AIOM Foundation and president of APAIM, Italian Melanoma Patients Association -. Since the launch of the campaign we have received numerous testimonies from people who, despite being healed , found themselves in difficulty in requesting various services. Even adolescents have experienced discriminatory episodes, for example in the sports field. It is necessary to intervene as soon as possible. We are happy to be able to count on the support of many patient associations. Before it was just a dream, today we are almost at the goal. ” “The approval of the law will allow many people to take their lives back into their own hands – concludes Ornella Campanella, member of the Board of Directors of the AIOM Foundation and president of the aBRCAdabra association -. di Francesco, 33, who was unable to adopt a child due to thyroid cancer treated thirteen years earlier. Laura, 45, did not get a mortgage to start her business despite recovering from a breast cancer for more than fifteen years. It is important that the institutions listen to us and support us in this challenge of culture and civilization. In recent months they have shown great sensitivity to the issue, we are sure that together we will be able to achieve the goal and change the crushing weight of those who feel that they are cancer patients who have been discriminated against for life “.