Airc, azaleas are back to fight female tumors

The Azalea della Ricerca Airc returns on Sunday 11 May on the occasion of Mother's Day to color 3,900 squares throughout Italy. The initiative, in support of research projects on female tumors - last year alone there were an estimated 175,600 new diagnoses - will involve over 20 thousand volunteers committed to distributing 600 thousand plants in exchange for a minimum donation of 18 euros.

A day to also remember the sixty years of commitment of the Airc Foundation which in these six decades has allocated approximately 2.5 billion euros to thousands of research projects supporting the work of approximately 5,400 researchers active in 96 mainly public institutes in our country. The occasion also aims to reiterate the importance of prevention and the goals achieved by oncology research. According to Aiom-Airtum data, the most frequent tumors among women are breast cancer (53,065 new cases), colorectal cancer (21,233), lung cancer (12,940), uterine cancer (8,652), thyroid cancer (8,322), pancreas cancer (6,712), non-Hodgkin lymphoma (5,950), skin melanoma (5,872), bladder cancer (5,789) and stomach cancer (5,512). However, today in Italy two out of three women survive at least five years after a cancer diagnosis thanks to research progress that has made earlier diagnoses, less invasive interventions and more effective and tolerable therapies possible. Survival varies greatly depending on the type of cancer: after breast cancer, it affects 88% of patients, while the percentages drop to 79% for uterine cancer, 68% for cervical cancer and 43% for ovarian cancer. In the case of ovarian cancer, early diagnosis is still difficult: 80% of cases are discovered when the disease is already advanced. For this reason, research is focusing on new treatments such as natural drugs aimed directly at tumor cells and molecular-targeted therapies, as well as studying new methods to identify the disease in its early stages. In the square, together with the plant, a special publication on tumors that affect women will also be distributed, with testimonials and useful information to dispel many false myths. All the information on the website azaleadellaricerca.it.