The process of concrete implementation of the law for oncological oblivion is progressing: it was published in Official Journal its first implementing decree which defines the list of oncological pathologies for which a reduced deadline is foreseen to accrue the right to be forgotten compared to the limit of 10 years or 5 years, if the diagnosis is before the twenty-first year of age, always from the end of the treatment or from the last surgery. The tables were developed with epidemiologists and based on Airtum data from Italian tumor registries, based on evidence that for some types of cancer the excess risk of death becomes negligible a few years after the end of treatments and the person can be considered cured having achieved a life expectancy similar to that of the general population, without a history of cancer.
«Science and law march united in decreeing that cancer can be cured, even a few years after diagnosis. Almost four months after the law on oncological oblivion, the Ministry of Health has issued the decree which establishes, for some oncological pathologies, recovery times shorter than those foreseen by the general law. Among these: first stage colorectal cancer, first and second stage breast cancer, testicular cancer and some thyroid cancers are considered cured one year after the end of treatment or the last surgery” he declared Elisabetta Iannelli, general secretary of the Federation of associations for cancer patients (Favo) and vice-president of the Italian association of cancer patients Aimac. In the body of the uterus, however, the term is 5 years and, for people over 21 years of age, 6 years for melanoma and 7 years for Stage II-III colorectal cancer.
«This is the answer that hundreds of thousands of people have been waiting for, a further step towards overcoming the anachronistic and unacceptable stigma that afflicts those who have had an oncological diagnosis, which still inspires so much terror» commented Iannelli. «The issuing of this first decree is an important signal from the Ministry in fully implementing the law and Favo with the network of patient associations, together with Aiom, after having promoted and worked intensely for the enactment of the law on the right to be forgotten oncology, will continue to monitor its implementation in all its forms. The issuing of the decree from the Ministry of Health which regulates the certificate of recovery is expected soon.”
In fact, to complete the implementation process of the law, other steps will be necessary, which we talked about here in the interview with Elisabetta Iannelli, whose terms expire at the beginning of July.
Foto del National Cancer Institute su Unsplash