An announcement was made this morning by the Regional Secretary for Health and Civil Protection, Pedro Ramos, at the presentation of the Regional League Against Cancer, Março Azul campaign, confirming that 90,000 Madeirans, aged between 50 and 74, will be called forward during the first semester of this year to undergo colorectal cancer screening.
Praising the work carried out by the Portuguese League Against Cancer with regard to colorectal cancer, especially in raising public awareness of the issue, Pedro Ramos pointed out that “colorectal cancer is the second biggest cause of death in Portugal. We know the five neoplasms with the highest incidence in the region and that for some of them we need to implement population-based screening.”
He also mentioned that in January the Region met with elements of the national Siima Rastreios IT platform, where the implementation, at a regional level, of five population-based screenings is being carried out; breast cancer; colorectal; cervical cancer, diabetic retinopathy and children’s visual health screening, which will also begin in the Region in 2022, he added that this year, lung cancer screening will also take place.
The Health Secretary added that the regions breast cancer screening had been a success, as the survival rate was now between 65% -85% due to the early detection of the disease.
Individuals will be notified by post of their appointment.
