PM Mitsotakis collects free cancer test kit, stresses importance of early diagnosis

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Friday collected one of the free home testing kits screening for colon cancer, which have been distributed to persons aged 50-69 in Greece as part of the national prevention programme "Prolamvano". Visiting a pharmacy in central Athens, Mitsotakis emphasised the huge importance of early diagnosis for beating cancer.

"For us it is very important to set in motion a major programme of preventive testing. This began, as you may remember, with the 'Fofi Gennimata' programme for detecting breast cancer .... a programme that is extremely successful because it allowed us to identify very many women who had early symptoms of breast cancer without knowing it," he said.

"In an era when we are putting great emphasis on prevention, continuing this programme for other diseases has great significance. Here we should say that this test for detecting symptoms that may indicate that someone is a potential candidate for colon cancer, is now provided free of charge to all our fellow citizens between 50 and 69. It is a very easy test. Our fellow citizens who belong to this age group have received this message. Do not ignore it, because prevention saves lives," Mitsotakis added.

The prime minister clarified that a positive result in the test did not indicate that someone definitely had cancer but was an indication to proceed with further testing, to rule out that possibility. "Let me stress, also, that the process is free and fully covered in the case of a positive test," he added.

He was also briefed by the pharmacist on how to take the test and the response of the public to the programme, saying it was received with great interest and viewed positively.

Mitsotakis urged people to overcome any fears they have, emphasising that it was a simple test and that, in the case of colon cancer, "prompt diagnosis essentially amounts to a full cure".

"For me it is also the best proof that we must, ultimately, have a state that takes care of the citizens and the best care we can provide is to invest in prevention. We always, when thinking about healthcare issues, think only of the hospitals. And we are, of course, making a great effort to improve the quality of services provided in our hospitals, but the major wager is how to avoid ending up in them," he added.

The programme for the prevention of colon cancer concerns some 3.8 million men and women aged between 50 to 69 years old and includes a free home testing kit and, in the case that this is positive, a free visit to a gastroenterologist for a clinical examination, diagnostic colonoscopy and biopsy. Prescriptions for the free test have so far been issued for 1,461,560 recipients.