Journeys of health, of hope, medical pilgrimages: a thousand ways to call them, but all are united by one element, that of illness.
From Sardinia, thousands of people cross the sea to reach centers of excellence on the peninsula - or even abroad - to find a cure, to get a second opinion . And there are many who turn to the Scientific Hospitalization and Treatment Institute of Candiolo , in the Turin area, of which Dr. Piero Fenu is the medical director. 63 years old, originally from Banari (Sassari), graduated in Medicine and Surgery in the Piedmontese capital.
Sardinia is his fixed stop at least four times a year, especially the small town from which his parents emigrated: «A welcoming place, on a human scale, I have many friends there, I am viscerally linked to the island ».
In his work he has had the opportunity to meet many Sardinians, to give some data: « On average in a year we have about 500 patients who arrive from the island , of which about a hundred are hospitalized, the rest for visits. A number that is increasing and does not consider the emigrants who therefore live in other regions".
For which pathologies in particular?
«Colonrectal or breast cancer, but this certainly does not mean that Sardinia has a particular incidence. In general, they are the most common types of cancer among the population.
Do you remember any particular story?
«A Sardinian patient, who has been with us for a few years, with otolaryngological cancer, and had arrived after receiving a poor short-term prognosis. Well, it's been 7 years and he periodically comes for checkups. I am always very happy to see him again, our professionals have done a great job. But there are many other stories of Sardinians who come to seek a "second opinion" to cling to hope and I see that they respond well to therapy".
