Colon cancer: free tests from June

According to the Greek Ministry of Health, a free colon cancer screening program will begin in three months.

The verification will include three stages, the first of which will be a self-test and will affect all citizens aged 50 to 70 years, who will be notified via SMS. This is a special test that detects the presence of blood in the stool. Combined with a short questionnaire, the test will “show” which citizens should be referred for a diagnostic colonoscopy.

“We see the active participation of pharmacies in colon cancer screening program, which is launched in such a way that self-testing is provided at the first stage. The necessary equipment for this will be provided to citizens in pharmacies. The test will be carried out with the help of pharmacists, so that those who have a positive result can proceed to the colonoscopy procedure,” said Deputy Minister of Health Irini Agapidaki at a press conference of the Panhellenic Pharmaceutical Association held on Monday 11 March From now on, citizens who are found to have “problems” as a result of a diagnostic test will be referred to an invasive colonoscopy, an operation to correct them.

Within a month, the program to combat cervical cancer
As the Deputy Minister noted, this month cervical cancer prevention program, which includes SMS, free screenings, Pap tests, HPV DNA test, colposcopy and biopsy. And the bill, which is being approved by the Ministry of Health, provides expansion of age restrictions to participate in the Fofi Gennimata breast cancer detection program (from 45 to 74 years old).

“By providing the entire package of tests, we significantly facilitate, especially for people from the poorest segments of the population, access to the necessary preventive measures,” emphasized Irini Agapidaki.

At the same time, according to Mrs. Agapidaki, Efforts are underway to immediately launch a skin cancer treatment program. This will affect citizens engaged in manual labor, such as farmers, herders and fishermen, who usually do not take the necessary preventive measures, such as appropriate clothing, sunscreen, and hats. This practice leads to skin cancer over time.

“The fight against cancer requires strategic, coordinated efforts and significant investment at all levels: in prevention, early diagnosis and effective treatment. Unfortunately, Greece has lagged behind, especially in the area of ​​prevention and early diagnosis. But now, for the first time, we are investing more than 200 million euros until 2025 in secondary prevention programs related to cancer,” the deputy minister said during her speech at the event.

“In addition, we are discussing Greece’s membership in the International Agency for Research on Cancer of the World Health Organization (WHO). This will give us an important opportunity in cancer prevention and treatment so that we can become collaborators in cancer research on a global level,” she added.

Other tests
Let us remind you that the plan of the Ministry of Health also includes free lung cancer screening program, which concerns high-risk groups. Candidates for this test, low-radiation X-ray, are those who smoke 2 packs for ten years or 1 pack daily for 20 years. In fact, as Irini Agapidaki noted, Greece, according to the latest European data, will be one of the first countries to implement the program.

A cardiovascular screening program will also be introduced and will be announced later.

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