“The approval of the law on the right to be forgotten on cancer places Italy at the forefront in Europe. This is a battle of civilization that marks the end of too much discrimination suffered so far by citizens who have recovered from cancer. We are proud to have contributed to this important result.” The Italian Association of Medical Oncology (AIOM) and the AIOM Foundation applaud the Senate’s decision to approve unanimously and without modifications the text which already received the approval of the Chamber of Deputies last July.
The right to oncological oblivion, what is it by Tiziana Moriconi 03 August 2023
“Citizens cured of cancer in Italy will no longer be discriminated against in their social, professional and family life – he states Francesco Perrone, President AIOM -. In fact, specific rules are envisaged that protect former patients from possible discrimination in the insurance and financial fields, as well as in the workplace. The law also approved in the Senate provides for the prohibition on requesting information on a previous oncological pathology after 10 years from the end of the treatments in the absence of recurrence of the disease in this period. For patients whose diagnosis occurred before the age of 21, this limit is reduced to 5 years. The law not only protects in relationships with banks and insurance companies but also in insolvency proceedings, if physical suitability is required and in adoption proceedings. It is, therefore, a more advanced law compared to that established in other states that have already adopted regulations on this issue”.
Right to be forgotten: managing life beyond cancer by Dario Rubino 31 October 2023
It is also envisaged that, with procedures to be defined through a technical table of the Ministry of Health, tables will be established that allow these times to be further reduced based on the different oncological pathology.
“We are ready to collaborate with the institutions to define the tables and make the new rule immediately operational in detail – they explain Saverio Cinieri (President of the AIOM Foundation) e Giordano Beretta (Past President AIOM Foundation) -. We have finally arrived at the definition of an ethical law, a law of civilization that improves the reintegration into active life of citizens who have overcome the oncological pathology. There are 3.6 million people in Italy living with a cancer diagnosis and around one million must be considered cured. It is essential to allow patients, especially the younger ones, to enjoy a free and complete life after the end of treatment. In February 2022, the European Commission, as part of the European Oncology Plan, hoped that all member states would adopt a law on the ‘Right to be forgotten oncology’ by 2025. In the last two years, the AIOM Foundation has launched a campaign important and effective information, #iamnotmycancer. With our online petition we have collected over 108 thousand signatures. It was a very important battle, which contributed to achieving this important result.”
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The new law must represent a further incentive in continuing the fight against cancer, so that more and more people can defeat oncological diseases forever, he comments Sergio BracardaNational President of the Italian Society of Uro-Oncology (SIUrO): “Cancer can be definitively cured and this principle has also been implemented by Italian legislation. In particular, we specialists in genitourinary tumors treat diseases in which cure rates are truly high: 63% for prostate cancer, 48% for bladder cancer and even 94% for testicular cancer. There is no doubt that there is still much room for improvement, especially for the more advanced and metastatic stages where in any case there is no important diagnostic-therapeutic innovations are missing. We are pleased that Parliament and more generally all our institutions – concludes Bracarda – have recognized former patients with the same rights as all other citizens”.
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