Being a team helps you win, even off the pitch. With this spirit in the warm-up of the match against Scotland for the Six Nations tournament which will be played on 20 April in Parma, the athletes of the women’s national rugby team they will wear a special shirt, that of Vittoria insurance. Printed on the back they will not have the numbers they usually play with but those for the prevention of female oncological diseases. «We are convinced – said the general director of Vittoria Assicurazioni Matteo Campaner – that just as matches cannot be played or won alone, life’s challenges can be faced together, which is why we want to provide the tools for prevention».
Prevention numbers
The captain of the national team Elisa Giordano will wear the number 8: in 8 out of 10 cases, explains Lilt, the diagnosis of breast cancer begins with a lump; teammate Alessia Pilani will wear the 3, like him screening essential according to the Ministry of Health to prevent female oncological diseases; Sofia Stefan, on the other hand, will wear number 9, because 9 out of ten women survive breast cancer according to Airc. But as part of the presentation of «Vittoria for women – Prevention numbers», the insurance company presented other data. According to Airc, six million people have been saved thanks to prevention and a mammogram should be done every two years to prevent cases of cancer. These and other numbers will be paraded on the pitch in the warm-up of one of the most important rugby matches of the season. «This project – explains the president of Fir Marzio Innocenti, who is a doctor, reflects the values of Rugby, which is a social and supportive sport. We aspire to make this sport important for our nation not only for the results on the field but also for the education and quality of life of our society, which is why we are committed to initiatives like this.”
Where to do the checks
Before the match, in Piazza Teatro Regio in Parma there will be the VittoriaBus with doctors on board to carry out free visits. The same vehicle will then move outside the stadium to intercept all the rugby fans. The initiative is part of the Vittoria for women project, which the Italian Rugby Federation created with Vittoria Assicurazioni and the Specchio dei Tempi Foundation.
Why take a free visit
To get an idea of the impact of the initiative, in one of the projects of Vittoria Assicurazioni, Fondazione Spectro and the Italian Rugby Federation – carried out in the context of Rugby beach – 31 suspected cases of diseases were intercepted out of a thousand people visited anonymously oncological, of which 22 were confirmed in subsequent visits. «The initiative was born from the sensitivity of the management on the topic, we have no products to sell or promote – explains the head of institutional communication Luciano Chillemi – we are here because we want to be known for the activities we do not only as sellers of policies».
