1.3 million women to get free breast cancer tests in prevention drive
Some 1.3 million women will be receiving a text message as of Friday instructing them to book an appointment for a free mammogram as part of a new prevention program introduced by the government and named after Fofi Gennimata, the leader of the socialist Movement for Change party who died of breast cancer last October at the age of 56.
The program is aimed at women aged between 50 and 69 years old who have an active AMKA social insurance number and are registered on the paperless prescription platform at the gov.gr website. Women in that age group who are not registered on the platform can talk to their doctor about providing them with a prescription for the test.
According to Digital Governance Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis, who presented the technical aspects of the program on Thursday, the next step in the government’s prevention drive will be tests for cervical and colon cancer, followed by checkups for heart disease.
“The state is not waiting for citizens to go to the doctor because they presented some kind of symptom but is reaching out to citizens to remind them to look after themselves, while also providing a suitable framework so this can be done without trouble or cost,” Pierrakakis said.
The minister also urged everyone registered with the Greek national health system to sign up to the paperless prescription platform, which eliminates much of the hassle of getting medicines or tests.
