Cancer screenings "right on your doorstep" with the new mobile unit of the "Proximity Care" project: proximity and innovation improve health services for those living in the areas of the province of Lucca

For the residents of some municipalities in the inland areas of the province of Lucca, in the Serchio Valley, all oncological screenings provided by the Regione Toscana will be able to be carried out "at their doorstep", on an experimental stage, using the mobile unit - equipped with all the necessary health and connection technologies - inaugurated during a ceremony on Wednesday, September 20, in Castelnuovo di Garfagnana. Participating in extensive checks to detect the occurrence of oncological diseases becomes easier and no longer requires the need to move from one's town of residence: the mobile unit will, in fact, be operational as part of "Proxy Screening", the action that is part of the multi-year project "Proximity Care", proposed by the Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, with the support of Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Lucca and with the involvement of the Regione Toscana, Asl Toscana Nord Ovest, 23 municipalities in the inland areas of the province of Lucca, and institutions of the third sector of this territory.

The opening ceremony was attended by Andrea Tagliasacchi, Mayor of the Municipality of Castelnuovo di Garfagnana and President of the Union of Municipalities of Garfagnana; Marcello Bertocchini, President of the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Lucca; Sabina Nuti, Rector of the Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies; Gastone Ciuti, Professor of the Institute of BioRobotics of the Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies; Caterina Campani, President of the Zonal Articulation of the Conference of Mayors of the Serchio Valley; Maria Letizia Casani, Director General of Asl Toscana Nord Ovest; Katia Belvedere, Director General of ISPRO; and Simone Bezzini, Councillor for the Right to Health and Sanitation of Regione Toscana.

Also on an experimental phase, citizens who have received invitations to attend screenings will also be able to test for dermatoscopy (a technique for examining the skin) spots or skin lesions that they deem necessary to have evaluated. The proximity of the service to the citizenry reduces the obstacles that residents of inland areas face in participating in screening campaigns, thanks to a decrease in the number of times citizens must travel to Ausl clinics, the time it takes to reach hospitals, and a significant reduction in environmental, social and economic costs.