Corina Crețu, diagnosed and operated on for cancer. Ask the Government to provide women with screening

Pro Romania MEP Corina Creţu announces that she was diagnosed with early-stage cancer in the summer, underwent surgery and still has five radiotherapy sessions.

She appeals to the Government to use European funds for screening, because in Romania many cannot afford routine checks. “People’s health is a fundamental right, not a luxury”, says the MEP, who claims that the PNRR must be rethought.

Corina Creţu said, in a post on Facebook, that she found out in the summer, following routine tests, that she has cancer, in an early stage.

“I started a new journey (…) Even after the operation, the surgeon told me that I am perfectly healthy, but for safety and to avoid recurrence, I will also have to undergo radiotherapy (…) I have five more sessions of radiotherapy. I thank all the civic organizations that campaign and fight against cancer, especially for the early detection of breast cancer. Only now do I realize the importance of these actions and I want to get involved in any effort that can make women aware that every day matters”, wrote Corina Creţu.

Most Romanian women diagnosed with breast cancer reach the doctor only in stage 2 or 3

It appeals to all women to take care of them.

“Many people tell me that they cannot do their routine medical examinations because of the high prices. And people are right. But many of these medical checks can be subsidized by the Government, with the European Commission committing, through the European Union Cancer Reduction Plan, to settle them from European funds (…) Lack of screening for breast cancer among the population women has generated a more than worrying situation in Romania. The low percentage of people who have performed the breast exam (6%) places us in last place in the EU. Unfortunately, in Romania, most women diagnosed with breast cancer reach the doctor only in stage 2 or 3 of the disease. Screening means, in fact, diagnosing the disease in stages where it can be cured”, the MEP also wrote.

According to her, the situation of people who postpone such important moments of medical examinations, not out of indolence, but because of the lack of material resources, will worsen against the background of the explosions in the prices of food, gas, electricity, food products.

“The European Commission has just recommended to the Member States of the European Union, a few days ago, through the voice of the Commissioner for Health Stela Kyriakides, among other proposals regarding the early detection of cancer in all its forms, the free screening for women between the ages of 45 and 74 years, in order to detect breast cancer in its early stages. The Commission also recommends that human papillomavirus (HPV) testing should take place free of charge for women aged 30 to 65 every 5 years or more to screen for cervical cancer. For colorectal cancer, the recommendation will introduce triage testing in people aged between 50 and 74 years. The extension of screening programs for lung cancer for smokers and ex-smokers aged 50-75 is already an ongoing program in some member states”, wrote Corina Creţu.

“Health is a fundamental right, not a luxury”. The government can use money from the EU

According to her, the European Commission encourages the use of European funds, where national resources are not sufficient.

“I appeal to the Romanian Government to use European funds for people’s health, which is a fundamental right and not a luxury. PNRR should be rethought. The initial ambition to build hospitals in Focşani, Sibiu and Braşov (as announced by Mr. President of Romania in the press conference with the President of the European Commission, Mrs. Von der Leyen, on the occasion of his visit to Bucharest) becomes almost impossible, as long as the process of contracting must be completed by December 2023 and actual construction by December 2026. Cancer detection saves lives. We can talk about healing after the early detection of some types of cancer. And you can detect early stages only by going for regular check-ups. Cancer doesn’t hurt in the first stages, that’s why it’s detected too often too late, that’s why there’s so much emphasis on prevention”, Corina Creţu said.