“There are policies, the results of which are not expressed exclusively in numbers or percentages. They are imprinted on the faces of those who gained years of life, thanks to a simple examination done in time with state welfare. I’m referring to the mass screening program for breast cancer that we started in 2022 and bears the name of the late Fofi Gennimata”, says Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in a post on social media, on the occasion of today’s World Breast Cancer Prevention Day.

As the Prime Minister points out, this is “a policy with a wide social footprint, as almost 900,000 women between the ages of 45 and 74 received the relevant SMS and had a free digital mammogram. Findings were identified in 53,601 of them, allowing them to start treatment in time. With a better prognosis than if it was discovered at an advanced stage – and, above all, with hope.”

“For them, this policy has a clear personal sign. As for me. As the son and brother of women diagnosed with the disease, I know first hand the anguish and fear. But I have also seen the strength and determination in their eyes. It is, after all, a curable cancer, if detected at the right time” writes the prime minister and continues: “That is why I insist on the value of prevention. A habit that is gradually being consolidated in our own country. We are leading this effort, with four national examination programs for the most serious and frequent diseases. Programs that have already benefited over 4 million citizens, of which 80,000 were identified with findings and are currently receiving appropriate care.”

And he concludes by writing: “It is not just a medical procedure. But for an act of responsibility towards ourselves, our family and ultimately society. The state continues to invest in prevention as a universal right, promoting it as a way of life. Today, World Breast Cancer Prevention Day, let’s take the step. For us and for those we love.”