Ministry of Health of Sarajevo Canton: Preventive screenings for the five most common types of cancer begin, citizen applications from Wednesday

(Patria) - Minister of Health of Sarajevo Canton Enis Hasanović today signed contracts with two public and six private healthcare institutions that will conduct preventive screenings as part of the project and Campaign "Let's be responsible - life is at stake".

This campaign last year broke records for preventive screenings of the most common types of cancer in Sarajevo Canton, so it continues this year as well.

The project has been expanded to include screening programs for prostate cancer and lung cancer, in addition to the existing ones - cervical cancer, breast cancer, and colorectal cancer.

The free programs are designed to enable early detection of diseases and improve treatment outcomes for different age groups. For this purpose, 27,666 free screenings have been secured, financed by the Ministry of Health of Sarajevo Canton in the total amount of one million KM.

The contracts were signed by healthcare institutions that met the criteria of the Public Call for co-financing the implementation of preventive screenings, and all registered public and private healthcare institutions at all levels of healthcare had the right to participate. Among them are: Clinical Center of the University of Sarajevo, Institute for Women's and Maternal Health of Sarajevo Canton, ASA Hospital, BWN Gynecology, PZU-Polyclinic Al Tawil Sarajevo, PZU - Polyclinic Atrium Sarajevo, PZU - Agram Sarajevo, PZU - Polyclinic Alea dr. Kandić.

Minister Hasanović once again emphasized the importance of such screenings and called on citizens to take advantage of these opportunities to improve their health care.

"By implementing this project, we expect that nearly 28,000 women and men from the area of Sarajevo Canton will be examined in each of the categories of the mentioned risk diseases, in order to enable prevention or possible early detection of these diseases. This is a record number, and this year we have expanded the screening program to lung cancer and prostate cancer, and I am happy that we have continued with the project that can potentially save someone's life and highlight the importance of preventive action. Already on Wednesday, September 25, 2024, we will most likely start with applications, where all those who wish to use these preventive programs need to register and meet certain criteria, and I invite our female and male citizens to apply and take advantage of this opportunity. All details regarding applications will be on the registration platform, and the Ministry of Health of Sarajevo Canton is available for all additional information," stated Minister Hasanović.

It was emphasized that through targeted education and promotional campaigns, habits for regular check-ups will be influenced, as well as raising awareness about the importance of prevention, preservation, and improvement of the health of the population of Sarajevo Canton, with special emphasis on screening programs for early detection of breast cancer, cervical cancer, colorectal cancer, lung cancer, and prostate cancer.