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At the Efe Health Forum "Cities Against Cancer" held at the 7th edition of Roche Press Day, the project launched in the Colombian city of Cali (southwest) for the design, planning and implementation of solutions In the fight against cancer
Rolando Camacho, external consultant of the International Union Against Cancer (UICC), said that Cali has managed to be a model for the countries of the world. Latin America in the fight against this disease, the second leading cause of death in Latin America
"Cali rose to the challenge of achieving the convergence of all the actors who started working together as a city to decide their priorities in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, "said Camacho. Cali, with Asunción (Paraguay) and Porto Alegre (Brazil) are the cities that are part of the "Cities Against Cancer C / Can 2025" initiative, a project that seeks help Cities in development solutions for cancer control.
Maria Cristina Lesmes, Departmental Health Secretary of the Valle del Cauca Department, whose capital is Cali, said that although it has not been an easy task, so far " We have successfully completed the diagnostic phase, we are building the projects at the funding stage and we are also starting with the education of human resources, "he said. 19659002] Lesmes pointed out that one of the main challenges facing cities in the fight against cancer is precisely the access to a timely diagnosis, since according to the figures of the World Organization of the between 60% and 70% of cancer cases in the region are diagnosed at an advanced stage.
For Rolando Camacho, rapid diagnosis is one of UICC's main goals: "We are looking for an early diagnosis, and this requires that health professionals receive an education so that they can not be diagnosed. they know how to direct the patient to seek help from the first symptoms. "
Camacho acknowledged that although Cali has made progress in the initiative, there are many obstacles" such that stigma because many people still are not convinced that if they are treated, early cancer can be curable, "he said.
That is why the specialist emphasized the importance of awareness campaigns. patients and health professionals know how to detect symptoms of the disease in a timely manner.
Carlos Estrada, general manager of Roche in Colombia, acknowledged the importance of education for health personnel as he said: "this is the starting point"
In addition, he stressed the role of private initiative in disease awareness because "the patient must understand"
For his part, Lesmes acknowledged that one of the great challenges of cities is still funding the fight against this disease, "it is so It is necessary to find sources of resources, which is one of the most complicated jobs."
In this sense, Ramiro Guerrero, director The Center for Studies in Social Welfare (Proesa), said that while it is true that resources are the most important thing is to "spend well, instead of spending more."
He explained that in the region there are fewer resources "and therefore we can not afford to spend badly", although he points out that this is not limited to the "poor". money, but also human resources, the use of infrastructure and medicines.
On the other hand, Lesmes explained that the work of cities to fight diseases such as cancer will be complicated "because it will take many"
He also said that one of the main problems they face is the influence of anti-vaccine groups, which prevent, for example, girls from being vaccinated against the papillomavirus.Human (HPV), which makes them vulnerable to cervical cancer.
Finally, Rolando Camacho said that reducing the number of cancer deaths by 25%, one of the goals of sustainable development of the United Nations (UN 39, here at 2025 is not an achievable goal, although he stressed that the work of cities like Cali could help reduce the mortality of this disease in regions like Latin America [19659002] EFE / MF
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