The fight against breast cancer in Campania is being fought with early detection. In an interview with Il Mattino di Napoli, Adolfo Gallipoli D'Errico, provincial president of LILT — the Italian League for the Fight against Cancer — presented this year's Nastro Rosa (Pink Ribbon) campaign and stressed one central message: treatment has advanced, but prevention remains decisive.
The Pink Ribbon campaign, LILT explains, is an awareness initiative focused on breast cancer prevention, with particular attention also to younger women.
The numbers reported for 2025
The interview refers to about 56,000 new breast cancer diagnoses per year in Italy and just over 500 cases in Campania, citing figures described as updated to 2025. The article does not provide a direct link to the original statistical source for those figures, so they should be read as the numbers reported in the interview rather than independently documented registry data.
In 2025, the provincial LILT assisted 156 patients and their families through support and accompaniment initiatives, according to the article.
Early diagnosis and mammography
The core of the message is secondary prevention: finding the disease early, when it is more treatable.
Early diagnosis can increase the chances of successful treatment and allow less invasive therapies. Mammography is the main examination used in organized screening programmes because it can detect nodules that are not yet palpable, according to material from LILT and AIRC.
AIRC reports the ordinary national recommendation as a free mammogram every two years for women between 50 and 69 years old. In some Regions, wider age ranges are being tested.
Organized cancer screenings are secondary-prevention services, generally offered free of charge to the population groups covered by health programmes. Because implementation differs between Regions, AIRC advises checking official regional health websites for current eligibility, invitations, and booking procedures.
A proposal to widen screening: 45 to 75
The provincial LILT is proposing to extend the screening age range from the current 50–70 years to 45–75 years. The article describes this as a proposal still being worked out with the Regions, not as a national measure already in force.
Readers should therefore continue to follow the screening invitations and rules currently applied in Campania until any change is formally adopted and published by the health authorities.
Free check-ups in Pompei on 23–25 October
As part of the Pink Ribbon initiatives, LILT plans free visits in Pompei on 23, 24 and 25 October at the casa comunale, the town hall.
The town hall and the dome of the Basilica will be illuminated in pink for the occasion. Authorization to illuminate part of the Archaeological Park of Pompeii was still pending at the time of the interview.
The source does not specify updated booking procedures or access arrangements for the free visits in Pompei. Anyone planning to attend should verify times, eligibility, and whether advance reservation is required through LILT's provincial channels or the Comune di Pompei before travelling.
What readers can do now
Two practical points emerge from the research behind this article.
First, do not wait for symptoms. Organized screening is designed for people without symptoms. A mammogram every two years between 50 and 69 remains the ordinary free programme reported by AIRC; women outside that range, younger women concerned about family history, or anyone who receives no invitation should speak with their general practitioner or local screening centre rather than assuming no check is needed.
Second, screening rules are regional. Since oncology screening is organized Region by Region, eligibility ages, invitation letters, and booking systems can differ. Check the official Campania health service pages for the latest information, and keep LILT's awareness message in mind: prevention starts with participating when invited.
