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The recent and authoritative declarations of Professor Rocco Bellantone, president of the Istituto Superiore di Sanità, shine a fundamental spotlight on a historical plague of the territory: healthcare migration and the urgent need for a public oncology center of excellence in Calabria, capable of reducing the economic and human costs that weigh on Calabrian families.
“A vision that finds full and convinced support, which had already been hoped for in the past, and which I now intend to take the opportunity to reiterate and relaunch forcefully: identifying the “Giovanni Paolo II” hospital in Lamezia Terme as the natural and strategic location to host the new Regional Oncology Centre”, declares Dr. Pasquale Maria Natrella, member of the Forza Italia Lamezia Terme board.
«The words of the prof. Bellantone confirm the need to provide our Region with an Oncology Center of excellence”, states Natrella. «The social and economic cost of passive mobility is constantly growing. In Calabria, spending on healthcare mobility determines a negative balance of over 326 million euros per year, with a significant impact on regional healthcare accounts. Extraordinary structural interventions are needed to improve access to care and guarantee Calabrian citizens increasingly qualified assistance, without the need to undertake long and expensive journeys outside the region. However, in order for a center of excellence of this scale to be truly effective and accessible to all, the choice of its geographical and logistical location plays a decisive role.”
The need for a regional oncology infrastructure appears even more evident when looking at the numbers. In Calabria today there are an estimated 50 thousand cancer patients and as many as 40% of them are forced to turn to healthcare facilities in other regions to receive specialist care and treatments. A phenomenon that entails not only significant costs for the healthcare system, but also enormous social, family and psychological inconvenience for patients and their caregivers.
According to data from the Italian Association of Cancer Registries, in 2023 alone, 391 thousand new cancer diagnoses were registered in Italy, with a higher incidence in the male population. Although advances in research and therapies have brought the average survival of cancer patients to around 65% of cases, cancer continues to represent one of the main causes of mortality. In Calabria, in fact, 4,570 deaths from malignant tumors were recorded in 2023, of which 2,663 were men, while estimates indicate approximately 10,350 new cases each year.
The data relating to oncological surgeries performed in regional Hub hospitals is also particularly significant. In 2023, the Catanzaro center carried out 419 operations, followed by Cosenza with 175 and Reggio Calabria with 101, for a total of 695 oncological surgeries. Numbers that demonstrate the importance of further strengthening the regional cancer care network through a dedicated structure, capable of integrating assistance, advanced diagnostics, research and innovation.
According to Natrella, Lamezia Terme has central and infrastructural characteristics that no other area in the region can boast. The presence of the International Airport, the main railway hub of Calabria and the A2 motorway interconnection makes the city the best connected and most easily accessible point from each province, reducing travel times to a minimum for frail patients and their families.
The “Giovanni Paolo II” Hospital also has large areas, both covered and buildable, adjacent to the main complex, suitable for hosting new high-tech modules, research laboratories and specialized departments for cancer treatment and assistance. Added to this is the proximity to the Magna Graecia University of Catanzaro, which would allow for full integration between clinical assistance, scientific research and advanced medical training, encouraging the best talents and young healthcare professionals to stay in Calabria.
«Proposing Lamezia Terme as the headquarters of the Regional Oncology Center is not a parochial claim, but a healthcare organization choice for the benefit of the entire region», concludes Natrella. «Offering cancer patients a center of excellence that can be easily reached from every corner of Calabria means concretely putting the person and their right to treatment at the centre. The hospital in Lamezia already represents a fundamental reference for the territory, as demonstrated by the over 50,000 annual visits to the emergency room: data which, combined with the epidemiological picture and healthcare mobility, confirm that a strategic choice of this type can no longer be postponed. As a citizen I hope that the Calabria Region and the competent institutions can consider this important opportunity and create a Regional Oncology Center for all Calabrians as soon as possible.”