The statistics speak for themselves: today cancer can be cured, and even when tumors do not completely disappear, therapies allow in many cases to transform them into chronic diseases, with which patients can live with for decades. Doctors and patients know this well, and finally Italian legislation also seems ready to implement it. With the approval of the unified text of the bill on cancer oblivion by the Social Affairs Commission of the Chamber of Deputies, in fact, Italy is in the process of equipping itself with rules that place us at the forefront in Europe in the protection of people affected by cancer who have overcome the disease. Gathered today in a conference at the Chamber of Deputies, FAVO (Italian Federation of Oncology Voluntary Associations), AIOM (Italian Association of Medical Oncology) and the AIOM Foundation applauded the text, also the result of a long battle for civilization carried out by the three associations, asking the parliament to approve the new rules as soon as possible, that there be an authority aimed at supervising their application and sanctions in case of violations.
A law against discrimination
“With the approval of the unified text proposal, the stigma cancer = death and the stigma cancer = incurable and incurable disease, frequently re-proposed by the media and still deeply rooted in public opinion, are finally canceled by law”, commented Elisabetta Iannelli ( Secretary General FAVO), during the congress. “Cancer survivors will no longer be discriminated against in social, professional and family life. In fact, specific rules are envisaged which protect former patients from possible discrimination in the insurance and financial fields as well as in the workplace, with measures relating to access to competitive selection procedures and recruitment, and relating to active inclusion and permanence policies in the Work. Even the recognition of eligibility for adoption can no longer be denied to those who have recovered from cancer”.
Rights also extended to the chronically ill
Specifically, the unified text of the bill provides that after 10 years from the end of treatment for adult neoplasms and after 5 for those of the pediatric age, patients in our country are considered cured not only at a clinical level but also for the company. In this way, it goes beyond what is established by European standards, considering not only patients clinically cured of cancer, but also those in whom the disease has been made chronic by the treatments, and who have therefore returned to living an absolutely comparable daily family and work life with that of the general population.
“The text starts from the fundamental assumption that cancer is curable and, in many cases, is increasingly a chronic disease”, underlined Giordano Beretta (AIOM Foundation President) and Saverio Cinieri (AIOM President). “Based on statistics, many people affected by cancer will die of other diseases before they are even considered clinically cured of the tumor. For this reason it is necessary to recalculate, for example, insurance premiums based on the enormous progress of scientific research. Again on the basis of this principle, the Italian law also intervenes on the law on the adoption of minors, and in any case applications for adoption that come from those who are still considered ill can also be evaluated”.
Italy at the top for survivals and healings
On the other hand, Italian oncology is at the top in the world in terms of survival and healing rates for many neoplasms. Of the more than 3.7 million people in Italy living with a cancer diagnosis, approximately one million must be considered cured. And it is essential to provide these people, especially the younger ones, with the tools to be free from the disease in all areas of their lives.
The Italian text of the law on cancer oblivion, as we said, is finally ready. The FAVO group therefore asks the institutions to approve it by the end of the year, with some small clarifications that would serve to make the new rules more effective. “On the one hand, specific sanctions must be provided for ‘strong contractors’ such as banks and insurance companies that continue to discriminate”, underlined Maurizio Sacconi, President of the Amici di Marco Biagi association and member of the FAVO working group. “On the other hand, forms of compensation must be introduced for the injured party. In terms of the supervision of the correct implementation of the law, it appears more coherent – concludes Sacconi – to entrust this responsibility to the Bank of Italy and to IVASS (Institute for Insurance Supervision) in relation to their competences for the pathological behaviors of banks and insurance companies ”.