The Ombudsman asks the Health Department what it bases its decision to limit colon cancer screenings to age 69.

BarcelonaThe Catalan Ombudsman has taken into consideration the complaint of a 72-year-old man regarding the age limit for colon cancer screening programs and is asking the Catalan Health Department, on which the complaint is based, to stop performing diagnostic tests after the age of 69, precisely the age at which these types of tumors are most common. This case of ageism, or age discrimination, was reported by... Joaquim Vilargunter from Barcelona in the pages of ARA After the regional health department headed by Olga Pané and a court denied him entry into the public prevention program, the director of social rights for the Ombudsman, Jordi Sánchez Pinyol, has opened an investigation following the news published on November 17th to determine if the Health Department has scientific reports to justify the age restriction to 69, and also inquires whether any such reports exist within that age range. In his complaint, Joaquim Vilargunter provided reports from other health services, such as those in the Basque Country and others in the European Union, which have decided to extend the screening age range to 74, taking into account the high incidence of cancer and the fact that stool analysis is cheaper than medical treatment. In the letter that Sánchez Pinyol has sent to the Catalan Health Department (Salut), he also asks about the exact cost of each test and "the impact that extending the age range to 74 would have on the healthcare budget," as well as what information is available on the incidence of this type of cancer in people over 69. The Ombudsman explains that he has opted to act ex officio without mentioning Vilargunter's personal case, knowing that he is unlikely to receive a positive response before turning 74 (he is two years away), while it could be a solution for other people who are about to reach the maximum age for the prevention program. According to Sánchez Pinyol, colorectal cancer screenings have many parallels with breast cancer, which also has an age limit and leaves women without universal and free periodic screening.