On Monday, November 13 of last year, Jesús Martín Tapias could not present his book My marathon against cancer and he will not be able to do so because he died of colon cancer. But he also died, in his words, for having lived in Madrid.
“If I die, it will be because I lived in Madrid. It would not happen if my home had been in the Basque Country. Tell everyone, so it doesn't happen again ”. This phrase was said to his friend, also a journalist, Carlos Hernández. And it is that Jesús Martín, living in Madrid, did not have access to the simple test of occult blood in the feces. A test that costs two euros and that is not implemented equally in our country.
Every year in Spain more than 13,000 people die from colon cancer. A tumor that affects 1 in 20 men and 1 in 30 women under 74 years of age and that in 90% of cases can be cured if detected early.
But in our country 8 million people cannot reduce their risk of death from this cancer which, as we see, has a good prognosis if it is diagnosed early, because an early detection program for it is not implemented in their autonomous community or because this is insufficient, according to data from the Spanish Association Against Cancer (AECC).
This program consists of a fecal occult blood test - which costs only € 2 - and which is carried out from the age of 50, taking into account that 90% of these tumors are diagnosed after this age.
Only 20% of Spaniards are protected
Since 2013, all communities are obliged to implement this program in the population at risk. But the reality is that not all of them have it. According to the AECC, to date only 4 autonomous communities (Basque Country, La Rioja, Navarra and Valencian Community) have 100% coverage in screening programs.
In 2014, there were 10 that did have a screening program: Murcia, Euskadi, Cantabria, Canarias, La Rioja, Comunidad Valenciana, Catalunya, Aragón, Navarra and Galicia. Two in which the program was in the pilot phase, which were Extremadura and the Balearic Islands; and two with a commitment to develop the piloting, Andalusia and Madrid. While Castilla La Mancha had no program.
But even in the communities where the coverage was established they were very different. For example, in the Basque Country in 2014 there was already almost 100% coverage, while in Galicia it was 7.4%.
Take the initiative
If you don't want to wait until you turn 50 or if there are no preventive programs in your community, you can ask for a fecal occult blood test. According to the AECC, it only costs € 2 through Social Security, but if you don't have a family history, they may not do it for you. In private consultation it can cost you between € 25 and € 100. To do this, go to a clinical analysis laboratory and follow the instructions to take the sample, which you can do at home. Be careful not to eat raw red meat, fruits or vegetables the two days before taking the sample.
