Last Friday, 4th February, World Cancer Day was commemorated to raise awareness and mobilise society to advance in the prevention and control of this disease. This year, the focus is on inequalities in the face of the disease because, they say, when faced with cancer, the place where you live determines the care you receive and your socio-economic situation determines your ability to assume the costs of the disease. Your gender, they add, is also a determining factor. These are the inequalities in the face of cancer, which today they want to make visible and eradicate. This is what the Mijas-Fuengirola Vice-President from the Spanish Cancer Association (AECC), Paloma Gómez, said in Las Lagunas. She stated that "there are many inequalities and we have to put an end to them, which is why we have a cancer agreement and we are encouraging all citizens to enter the website of the Spanish Cancer Association and join this agreement. The more signatures we collect, the more pressure we will apply to put an end to these inequalities".

According to the Cancer Association, "when it comes to cancer, your postcode affects more than your genetic code and your credit card is more valuable than your healthcare card". To break down these inequalities, the Mijas-Fuengirola regional delegation took to the streets today. In Mijas Pueblo, we spoke to the Mijas Pueblo AECC Mijas-Fuengirola Volunteer Coordinator, Antonia Núñez, she said, that "there is inequality, of course, and people are left wondering if it is gender inequality, but it is simply inequality and it is interesting that we can explain it to people from these tables. They are not petition tables, we are not collecting money, they are informative, and we have to do it".

 

At the information tables, we met volunteers, who told us about their experience with this disease and with the association. Raquel Plata, who suffered from breast cancer, wanted to emphasise, from Las Lagunas, that "I had psychological and physical support because I had physiotherapist sessions for free, which has been good for me. It is a great help for people with fewer economic resources".

Last Friday, the association also took advantage of its street outing to inform about all the services it offers and two new workshops focused on cancer prevention. The first will take place on 9th March, and is aimed at smokers so that they put out their cigarettes. The second, on 14th March, will try to combat sedentary lifestyles "because physical exercise is extremely important. For this reason, on the 14th, we will start a workshop, in which we will go out to walk every morning. It will be a gentle start, as we want people who have not normally walked, to join us", explained Gómez.

Mijas Town Hall Support

The Government team representatives also visited some of the information tables that were set up in the municipality last Friday. They were thanking the Spanish Cancer Association for their work, which has been providing services in our country for almost 70 years. "And above all, we also want to give visibility to all those patients and families who, right now, are fighting against cancer and in many cases are doing so, with those inequalities that the group denounces," said the Mijas Mayor, Josele González (PSOE), at the table that was set up in Mijas House Museum.

Accompanying the Mayor were also the Mijas Town Hall Councillors, Tamara Vera (PSOE) and Laura Moreno (PSOE), as well as the Social Services Councillor, Hipólito Zapico (PSOE), who recalled that the City Council collaborates, every year, with the Spanish Cancer Association from Mijas-Fuengirola with a grant of around 15,000 euros. "An economic contribution that, of course, the group allocates to cancer patients in the region, offering them travel to the doctor if necessary, recovery therapies and, most importantly, giving them care and advice to assume this new situation with hope," added Zapico.

For her part, the Volunteering Councillor, Mariló Olmedo (Cs), went to the information table at Las Lagunas Cultural Centre together with the First Deputy Mayor of Mijas, José Carlos Martín (Cs) and the Councillor Andrés Ruiz (Cs). Olmedo had words of affection and gratitude for all those who, in an altruistic way, lent a hand in the association by installing, for example, these information tables at street level. "Significantly, most of these volunteers are people who have suffered from this disease and received so much support from the AECC that, even when they have beaten cancer, they wanted to continue belonging to the group to help other patients," said the Councillor.

Also, to commemorate World Cancer Day, that afternoon, the Mayor's office was lit up, in green, to raise disease awareness.

 

How cancer will affect people in 2022

The Spanish Society of Medical Oncology also assures that depending on where you live, you will have a greater or lesser chance of preventing cancer, living with it and accessing the results of research. It is estimated that in 2022, more than 280,000 cases will be detected in Spain. The most frequent cancers, this year, will be those of the colon and rectum (43,370 new cases), breast (34,750), lung (30,948), prostate (30,884) and urinary bladder (22,295).

Forty-two per cent of the autonomous regions do not protect their population from tobacco smoke. Seven communities and cities have not yet ensured that their entire at-risk population (50-69 years) has access to a colorectal screening programme. The optimal number of palliative care providers for adequate care is two per 100,000 inhabitants, and Spain does not achieve this ratio, with the national average at 0.6 per 100,000 inhabitants.

In addition to all the above, there is the socio-economic factor, as cancer reduces income and increases unforeseen expenses, causing an economic cost to 41% of families of more than 10,000 euros during the illness.
 

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