Cancer experts stress need for preventive health tests
On World Cancer Day on Tuesday, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis added his voice to warnings by experts underlining the need for regular preventive medical tests.
The rector of Athens University, Thanos Dimopoulos, who is an oncologist and president of the Hellenic Society of Haematology, noted that four in 10 people will be diagnosed with cancer at some point, adding however that 30 percent of those cases could have been prevented if factors such as smoking, obesity, unhealthy eating and a lack of exercise were addressed.
He added that better access to healthcare and medical progress has led to fewer fatalities, with 65 percent of cancer sufferers living more than five years after their diagnosis.
Mitsotakis noted that “cancer has one major enemy: prevention.” He pointed to the successful implementation of a ban on smoking in public places, noting that this proved that society was able to mobilize when it recognized the risks to public health.
