ATHENS – Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Monday met two children that have recovered from cancer, Nefeli and Philippos, to mark the launch of a National Register of Patients in Childhood and Puberty with Cancerous Ailments. Mitsotakis had made a pledge that the register will start operating to the same two children a year earlier.

The prime minister said that ways have been found to strengthen the national health system as a whole, even at a time when attention was focused on the ongoing pandemic. He also highlighted that Greece has excellent facilities and doctors for treating the disease.

"I will never tire of saying that medicine's progress, especially in child and teenage cancers, is truly impressive. In our country we have an excellent workforce, very extensive experience, excellent facilities, incredible doctors, private and public sector partnership, with very good results," he said, adding that the goal must be to fully defeat child and teenage cancer.

Referring to their meeting last year, Mitsotakis said he was greatly satisfied to be able to meet the promise made at that time, expressing confidence that it will be an important legacy for the future and help create a fuller picture and a proper record of cancer in the country, leading to a better response.

The register will provide more accurate figures and may help address issues such as genetic predisposition and others, he added.

A national register of underage cancer patients had been a long-standing demand of the families facing the disease throughout the country and is expected to yield information on the prevalence of the cancer, its age distribution, how the disease develops, outcomes and the effectiveness and safety of various treatments, as well as evaluations of health services.

Registration of patients is mandatory and is done by the doctor presiding over the case, via the e-prescription system, and includes information on demographs, diagnosis and other factors.