According to the calculations pointed out by the Spanish Network of Cancer Registries (REDECAN) for 2021, the number of cancers diagnosed in Spain in the year just ended will have been close to 276,000 cases . However, the reality may be slightly different as this estimate does not include the possible effect of the COVID-19 pandemic . For example, because of it, public screening programs for some types of cancer have continued to be affected to a greater or lesser degree. Therefore, the number of diagnosed cancers may be lower than expected.
More figures. Regarding mortality in Spain, it is estimated that cancer mortality at the national level will increase from 113,000 cases in 2020 to more than 160,000 in 2040 .
Data like this explains why millions of Spaniards —if we count patients and their environments— live with the word cancer on a daily basis. A word that, far from ‘hiding’, should be remembered. We have to talk about cancer; put it on the agenda. This is how dozens of scientific health societies and companies that ‘travel’ hand in hand in the recently created ‘Cancer Now’ project have understood it. All to one in the awareness, prevention and approach of this pathology in its multiple variants.
Promoted by the Foundation for Excellence and Quality in Oncology (Fundación ECO), the different actions that will be launched within the framework of ‘Cancer Now’ aim to promote this pathology on the national agenda —especially politics— and place it among the priorities for the coming years. All this, from three main axes and/or fronts: to guarantee access to therapeutic innovation, that it be carried out in terms of equity for the population and a greater commitment to the use of biomarkers that allow a better ‘x-ray’ of the disease in each patient.
Virtual day on January 18
One of the pillars of this initiative is the celebration this coming January 18 of the virtual professional conference ‘Cancer in Spain: a vital emergency’ . It is a multidisciplinary and participatory event that will include the representation and intervention of panelists from all the organizations that have a direct or indirect participation in the approach to cancer in Spain.
This conference will address issues of “vital” importance such as access to innovation, equity in cancer care, molecular diagnosis in precision medicine, the incorporation of biomarkers in the common portfolio of services of the National Health System, public-private collaboration in cancer, etc.
Both the complete agenda of the meeting and free registration for it are now available on the Fundación ECO website. Similarly, the meeting will be broadcast in streaming .
To consolidate the work of 2021
“It is essential to transfer the National Strategy of Spain to specific action plans, adopt the Beating Cancer Plan of the European Union in Spain, and promote research, innovation and equity in our country” , point out from the Eco Foundation.
Precisely, the goal of ‘Cancer Now’ is to consolidate the black on white work that has been done in 2021; apply theory in practice. For example, at the national level, at the beginning of 2021, the Ministry of Health and the Autonomous Communities approved an update – after a decade without being carried out – of the National Cancer Strategy. This update addresses aspects such as prevention, “through healthy lifestyles”, precision medicine —which has given therapeutics a 360º turn— or early diagnosis. This plan also affects the progressive extension of the multidisciplinary and cooperative care model, based on care networks between professionals and national and European reference centers.
However, at the same time, the experts recall that, in dealing with cancer, Spain must feel ‘European’. The reason? The existence, likewise, of a continental Plan against cancer approved in February 2021 and that is considered “more ambitious” than the national one in fields such as prevention and early detection. Hence the request that the latter be ‘nurtured’ or incorporated into the continental strategy.
“We want to save lives through prevention; we want to detect cancer as early as possible; we want to ensure access to the highest standards of diagnosis and treatment; and we want to improve the quality of life of cancer patients and survivors” , listed the President of the European Commission, Úrsula Von Der Leyen, in her presentation. For this, a total budget of 4,000 million euros has been allocated.
Thus, after a past 2021 of development, in the fight against cancer this 2022 is presented as the #MomentForActuar , in line with the motto of the conclave that is ‘Cancer Now’. The union (and the joint path) is strength; especially against ‘enemies’ that cause more than 113,000 annual deaths in Spain.
