Luanda - The Vice-President of the Republic, Esperança da Costa, on Thursday in Luanda, defended the adoption of urgent measures for prevention, control and universal access to new technologies for the treatment of breast and prostate cancers.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the "Pink October, Blue November Reflection Meeting", whose motto is "United in the Prevention of Breast and Prostate Cancer", she considered the psycho-social support of patients to be essential.
According to Esperança da Costa, prevention and early detection are fundamental for control, and she emphasised that the country is facing a major public health challenge with the increase in chronic non-communicable diseases, especially cancer.
According to the Vice-President, cancer is a public health problem of great global concern, which is why its prevention, early diagnosis and timely treatment are a priority in the Angolan Executive's strategy.
She emphasised that, in addition to pain, suffering and mourning, the disease seriously compromises the country's expectations of socio-economic growth and prosperity.
From her point of view, early detection of breast cancer, in order to guarantee the survival of the women affected, is fundamental for controlling the disease, using mammography, a highly effective but expensive means of diagnosis, and/or clinical breast examination and self-examination.
"It is therefore important to publicise the initial signs and symptoms of breast cancer, both for health professionals and for the women themselves, so that they can undergo timely diagnosis and treatment," she warned.
As for prostate cancer, he recalled that prevention and control are possible, but this requires promoting and encouraging men to recognise the need to seek out health services for regular screening.
"It turns out that an incomprehensible inattention to the disease, coupled with backward and prejudiced resistance to physical examination, still keeps mature men away from routine evaluations that can diagnose the problem early and preserve the lives of many citizens," he said.
Vice President recalled that the Government joins the worldwide Pink October and Blue November movements every year, which are crucial in raising awareness among women and men about the prevention, early diagnosis and treatment of these types of cancer.
Last October, she said, various promotion and prevention activities were carried out together with civil society and partners, including talks, conferences and the distribution of information material, with the aim of alerting women to the importance of preventive examinations and breast cancer screening.
The Vice-President of the Republic said that the world now has scientific knowledge that shows that 1/3 of all cancers can be prevented, and that prevention is the best long-term strategy and has the best cost-benefit ratio for controlling the disease.
Organised by the Ministry of Health, in partnership with the National Commission to Combat HIV-AIDS and Major Endemic Diseases (coordinated by the Vice-President of the Republic) and the National Oil and Gas Agency (ANPG), the "Pink October and Blue November" reflection meeting aims to raise public awareness of the importance of early cancer diagnosis. FMA/VIC/ADR/DAN/DOJ
