SEVILLE, February 12. (EUROPE PRESS) –
The Minister of Health and Consumer Affairs, Catalina García, this Monday defended the commitment to humane care for cancer patients and their families in Andalusia as the “best answer” to the changes that cancer brings about in the lives of patients and their families. ; “Changes that have physical, emotional and social consequences that can persist over time, even after cancer,” he said.
In a press release, Catalina García explained that the goal set out in the Andalusian Cancer Strategy is to create a “climate of trust” that helps “promote more humane and person-centred healthcare and treatment becoming increasingly personalized” . “We want to bridge the gap that exists between healthcare providers and patients,” he added.
In her speech at the II Day of Women with Cancer, which took place this Monday in Madrid, the head of the Department of Health and Consumer Affairs detailed that the Ministry is busy developing protocols for the follow-up of patients who have suffered a long battle with cancer, both for adults and and for children. adolescents, optimizing communication channels with patients and their families, primary care and hospital care to ensure continuity of care and improve protocols for transition to palliative care.
Moreover, these protocols aim to support patient associations; offer psychological and psychosocial support to patients and their families; implement local humanization plans that respect the rights of cancer patients and improve communication skills training for health personnel. The consultant recalled that as part of this humane assistance, 24-hour care for patients with pediatric oncology was extended throughout Andalusia, both in person and by telephone. “This is a response to demands from families and professionals themselves, which ensures greater safety and quality of care for these children,” he assured.
Garcia, who took part in a roundtable on “Administration’s Commitment to Patients,” explained that “the Council’s commitment is not just about health care, it is to offer better treatment with better specialists and more complete equipment; work on prevention and early detection, for example through screening for breast, colon or cervical cancer and HPV vaccination, as well as through research.
The consultant added that “we are working on promoting healthy lifestyles in schools together with school nurses and the teaching community with the aim of consolidating a healthy lifestyle pathway among children throughout their lives. We believe it is important to be able to work when cancer is a reality, but perhaps more important to work without cancer becoming a reality. In this sense, the head of the department of health and consumer affairs noted that “improving treatment outcomes for cancer patients has become a reality in recent years thanks to two fundamental aspects: targeted therapy and immunotherapy.”
“These strategies are achieving survival data that would have been unimaginable just a few years ago, while maintaining patient quality of life,” he emphasized. Thus, currently every fifth group in the medical research centers and institutes conducting research in the Andalusian Public Health System (SSPA) has all or some of its work related to oncology.
Between 2019 and 2023, the SSPA received 259 competitive grants for oncology-related research projects, amounting to €31.5 million. Thus, every fifth euro raised through competition projects in Andalusia in these five years goes to oncology research. The Carlos III Institute of Health (38.2% of funds) and the Ministry of Health and Consumer Affairs (15% of funds) are the main funders of projects of this type.
In recent years, more than 2,000 researchers (600 of them led at least one project, and the rest were members of groups and projects) have conducted oncology-related research. The vast majority is distributed among the 79 stable research groups of Granada, Ibima and Inibiki). This means that 20% of the total number of research groups in these centers have all or some areas related to oncology.
Of the 3,331 clinical trials initiated at SSPA during this period, 936 (28%) were in the field of oncology. Therefore, almost three out of every ten clinical studies initiated at SSPA over the past five years have investigated this topic. In addition to the administration’s commitment to patients, Catalina Garcia values relationships with patient associations dedicated to the fight against this disease.
However, as the head of the department of health and consumer affairs noted, “there is a need to improve coordination and communication between administrations and associations, using clear channels of cooperation, sharing resources and relevant information and avoiding duplication of efforts.” To which he added, “they must work together to identify and remove barriers that prevent certain populations from accessing needed health care and resources to ensure equitable access to health care services for cancer patients.”
Likewise, Catalina García warned about the dangers of disinformation, “one of the main problems we face.” “It still happens that you don’t know the pathology if it doesn’t concern you closely. Therefore, we must continue to insist on educating and informing the entire society so that a chain of solidarity with sick people and their families is encouraged. or at least a more comprehensive view that favors their full integration into society,” he insisted.
Cancer is the second cause of death among women in Andalusia. In 2022, 7,578 women (and 11,623 men) died from cancer in the community. 1,164 women died from breast cancer, the most common cancer among women (56.67% of women who died from cancer); 964 died from colon cancer (12.72%); 828 cases of lung cancer (10.93%) and 113 cases of cervical cancer. The Andalusian consultant recalled that a third of these deaths are avoidable because they are caused by risk factors that we can prevent through a healthy lifestyle and some, such as cervical cancer, through vaccination against the human papillomavirus (HPV).
In January, vaccination coverage for girls throughout Andalusia reached 92.8%, and coverage of the first vaccination for 12-year-old boys is more than 80% of the 2011 cohort. A pilot project for cervical cancer screening is being developed in Cadiz, which will be extended throughout Andalusia in July. Early detection allows for increased survival and, in most cases, more conservative and less damaging surgery for breast cancer. From April 25, 2023, screening includes women aged 70 and 71 years.
Therefore, the current target population is 50 to 71 years old, with plans to soon include women aged 47 to 49 years. Since 2021, 1,079,114 women have taken part in this screening (in 2023 – 410,837), which made it possible to diagnose 3,632 cancers over these three years (last year – 1,355). For its part, since its launch, the Colon Cancer Screening Program has invited a total of 2,319,696 people living in Andalusia, including 440,967 women, to take the test at home, achieving a coverage of more than 98.38% when invited to the target. Population.