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Serbia

Crown Princess Katherine puts spotlight on major health issues

Crown Princess Katherine of Serbia

Crown Princess Katherine of Serbia puts health high on her list of priorities. For decades, she has worked to improve the health care system in Serbia. This week, she has been putting the spotlight on both breast cancer and heart disease.

The Crown Princess Katherine Foundation, in cooperation with the Clinical Centre Nis, has started an appeal to women in Vranje to make sure they take up examinations on the occasion of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Recalling the importance of prevention, HRH Crown Princess Katherine has appealed to all women from Vranje and the surrounding area to come for free check-ups, because early detection is crucial in treating breast cancer.

Examinations in Vranje will be performed thanks to the digital mobile mammography unit donated by HRH Crown Princess Katherine Foundation twelve years ago to the Clinical Centre Nis. Over 149,000 examinations have been performed by this digital mammography unit so far and many women’s lives have been saved. HRH Crown Princess Foundation and L’Oréal Balkan will also support the examinations organized by the Institute for Public Health “Batut” during the first weekend in October.

On the same day, September 29th 2021, Princess Katherine also expressed her concerns regarding the high number of people who suffer from cardiac diseases in Serbia and she appealed to everyone to take special care of their health focusing on their hearts as she marked World Heart Day. According to the latest European Society of Cardiology guidelines for prevention, Serbia is still among the European countries with the highest risk for the population of dying of cardiovascular diseases. The data show that more than 52,000 people die annually from cardiovascular diseases in Serbia.

Her Royal Highness wrote in a statement: “I am deeply concerned when I see the statistics on how many people die in our country and the entire world every day from cardiovascular diseases. These numbers could be significantly reduced by making better and healthier life choices. We need to listen to our doctors, take their advice, and change life habits that are endangering our cardiac health, including, stop smoking, control high blood pressure, sugar, and lipids, and improve our daily physical activities. The heart has always been a symbol of love. In order for all of us to be able to feel the love from our dear ones and to spread it further, we need to live longer by taking care of our hearts”.

About author

Senior Europe Correspondent Oskar Aanmoen has a master in military and political history of the Nordic countries. He has written six books on historical subjects and more than 1.500 articles for Royal Central. He has also interview both Serbian and Norwegian royals. Aanmoen is based in Oslo, Norway.