For every 8 mammograms that are not done there is one undiagnosed breast cancer

Dr. Athanasios Exadaktylos appealed to all women who receive SMS for mammography not to neglect it, in a press conference for the presentation of a large survey carried out on behalf of the Panhellenic Medical Association by the polling company GPO.

According to the survey, 32.2% of women aged 55-64 and 17% of women aged over 65 who report having received an SMS message about a free mammogram as part of the screening program for breast cancer “Fofi Gennimata”, have not been tested.

32.1% did not take the test due to negligence, 19.3% because they had recently taken the test without using the program, 14.6% due to age, 10.1% due to difficulty accessing the respective service and 4.6% because of fear.

“For every 8 mammograms that are not done, there is one undiagnosed breast cancer,” Mr. Hexadaktylos pointed out.

As part of the “Fofi Births” program, more than 300,000 free mammograms have been performed and early findings have been identified. Thus, thousands of women have undergone timely treatment improving survival or even cure rates. It is noted that Greece aligned itself with the directives of the European Union and expanded the age limit for free screening for breast cancer. With recent legislation, beneficiaries of the program are all women aged 45 to 74 (compared to 50-69).

New programs coming soon

The entire screening program will be presented by the leadership of the Ministries of Health and Digital Governance, on Friday afternoon, in the presence of the Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

According to reports, the first cervical cancer SMS are expected to be sent out during Holy Week, a program that has received multiple delays since its announcement.

Next month to June, the program for colon cancer is also expected to start, which had also been postponed due to difficulties in its planning.