Cancer, chronic disease survival rates far lower in south

(ANSA) - Rome, April 19 - The survival rates for patients with cancer and other chronic diseases is much lower in southern Italy than other parts of the country, Alessandro Solipaca, the scientific director of the national observatory of the health of Italy's regions, said on Thursday. Solipaca said that the percentage of people who die from such diseases in the South goes from 5% to 28%, with the worse case being Campania. This compares to a national average of 2.3%.
    The exception is Puglia, where mortality rates are in line with the national average.