Overview
- María Varela filed roughly 55,000 signatures at Spain’s Health Ministry in Madrid and requested an official meeting, which had not been confirmed at the time of submission.
- The Change.org campaign, launched in November after Varela’s metastatic breast-cancer diagnosis, calls for a nationwide start age of 40 to replace regional thresholds of 45 to 50.
- Organizers argue earlier, uniform screening would reduce metastatic presentations and help women who lack private coverage access timely detection.
- The campaign has gathered more than 120 testimonies of diagnoses before 45, and fellow patients Esther, Marina and Nuria joined the handover to highlight early-onset cases.
- Spain’s oncology society (SEOM) notes a rise in tumors among younger adults, and the petition remains open with support continuing to climb beyond the initial tranche submitted.