Slovenia launched the national breast cancer screening programme on Monday, with the first mammography being performed in Ljubljana. The programme, dubbed Dora, is aimed at reducing breast cancer mortality by 25%, director of the Ljubljana Oncology Institute Aljosa Rojec told the press.
Rojec said that invitations had been sent to women from the Ljubljana Municipality at the end of March. "Slovenia thus joined 22 European countries that had already established organised breast cancer screening."
According to plans, a mobile unit is to start visiting other regions of Slovenia by the end of the year, while another unit is to open in Maribor next year.
Health Minister Zofija Mazej Kukovic meanwhile said in a separate statement that the health care budget envisaged EUR 3.3m for Dora, and EUR 4.4m for the colon cancer screening programme, Svit.
She added that the government was to debate this budget item in two weeks, assuring that sufficient funds would be secured to carry out the two programmes this year.
She added that unorganised screening had proven inefficient and that years of mammographies had not produced results. That is why entralised and systematic screening programmes are important, she said, adding that only high-quality service could decrease the burden of cancer.
The chair of the Slovenian association of the European Breast Cancer Coalition Europa Donna, Mojca Sencar, said that this was a great day for Slovenian women, as breast cancer was on the rise and too many women had died of it.
Stressing the importance of cancer screening, she said that the national programme could reduce the annual number of breast cancer deaths by around 100 from the current 400.
Head of the Public Health Directorate at the Health Ministry Marija Seljak noted that the fight on cancer was one of the priorities of Slovenia's EU presidency.
She explained that the preparations for the Dora programme had started already in 2000, adding that launching such an important project took time and learning from experience at home and abroad.
In 2005, over 1,000 Slovenian women were diagnosed with breast cancer, while 390 died. The Dora programme is expected to help to early detection and subsequently to lower mortality.
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