CNAO: Expertise and Professionalism

CNAO: Expertise and Professionalism

I am a 66-year-old patient who was diagnosed with adenoid cystic carcinoma of the nasopharynx in 2013. After the;surgery performed at the Spedali Civili di Brescia, an MRI scan showed the presence of an 8-mm-diameter nodular residual tumour. I was then referred for radiotherapy to the CNAO of Pavia where, after a preliminary visit and after a long negotiation with the Local Health Authority of my Region that had to authorise the treatment, I underwent radiotherapy with carbon ions from 17/03 to 15/04/2014. Fortunately, 7 months after the end of the treatment, the control MRI showed that the tumour lesion had been reduced by almost 70%! Up to date, the side effects have been rather mild, and I have a completely normal life. Since the;completion of the first bureaucratic procedures, at the CNAO I have been followed up with great competence and professionalism, as well as with extreme kindness and deep empathy. Thanks to that, my treatment pathway has proved much easier than I expected. So it is sad to learn that a centre of excellence, the only one of its kind in Italy, is facing difficulties and even risks closing down. Unfortunately, if this were to happen, many patients like me would no longer be able to be treated for traditional-therapy-resistant tumours, and many others would be deprived of the hope of an effective treatment. I therefore wish that the institutions in charge will act promptly and effectively to prevent the closure of the CNAO and, more generally, the downgrading of Italian Healthcare, which is already repeatedly threatened by inefficiency and corruption.