Mother's Day, May 14, 2023. For this long-awaited and heartfelt appointment, the research azalea of the Airc Foundation returns, to give strength to researchers engaged in ever earlier diagnosis and more effective treatments for cancers affecting women. The strength of women and that of ties are the message that Airc wants to convey through this campaign throughout the month of May. The same strength that starts from research reaches the patients and multiplies thanks to the support of the people who are close to them and take care of them every day.
Mother's Day: we support the Airc (Italian Cancer Research Association)
Twenty thousand volunteers return to over 3600 squares on Sunday 14 May to distribute the azalea, against a donation of 18 euros, to support the work of Airc researchers. Together with the plant, a guide will be delivered with information on prevention in the various age groups. In 39 years, the initiative has made it possible to raise over 290 million euros. You can also surprise mom by ordering azalea on Amazon. Last year in our country over 185 thousand new cases of cancer were estimated in the female population, about 10 thousand more than in 2019, the year preceding the outbreak of the pandemic.
The most frequent tumors were those of the breast (55.700), colorectal (20.100), lung (14.600), uterus (10.200) and thyroid (8.700). The screenings, offered free of charge by the National Health Service for some pathologies and to some segments of the population, make it possible to identify pre-cancerous lesions. Or the presence of a tumor when it is still in its initial stage, but adherence in Italy is still too low, according to the Italian Association of Medical Oncology (Aiom).
The importance of research
Along with screening, the main ally of patients is research. In recent years the survival of women 5 years after diagnosis of cancer it reached 65 percent thanks to the important results obtained by scholars. Alberto Bardelli, scientific director of Ifom, the molecular oncology institute of the Airc Foundation, with his research group he has recently identified a therapeutic strategy through preclinical studies. He warns that it could make metastatic colon cancers susceptible to immunotherapy. Neoplasms in 95 percent of cases do not respond to this type of treatment.