Today half of the patients can defeat cancer. The flavonoids of dark cocoa have antioxidant properties, while Airc raises funds with its famous chocolates to accelerate scientific discoveries
Massimo was convinced that it was over. In November 2020, when doctors diagnosed him with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, the Calabrian artist saw only darkness. “I looked like a ghost,” he recalls. Today, four years later, he is cured and testifies to how research saved his life. Like him, about 50% of people who receive a cancer diagnosis can go back to having the same life expectancy as those who have never been ill.
It is a figure that marks an epochal turning point in the fight against cancer, the result of sixty years of scientific research supported by AIRC, the main non-profit financier of oncology in Italy. The Foundation provides 70% of the total funds allocated to competitive research in our country, supporting 5,400 researchers in 96 institutions.
The paradox of chocolate that cures
On Saturday 8 November, in Italian squares (and also at Evidence Network Live), thousands of volunteers will distribute Research Chocolates: 200 grams of Venchi dark chocolate in exchange for a minimum donation of 15 euros. An initiative that combines business with pleasure, given that dark chocolate is an ally for health.
“Cocoa is a good source of flavonoids,” explain the experts. These molecules have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that offer potential benefits to the body. Naturally, as with any food, moderation is fundamental: chocolate remains a caloric product to be consumed with balance.
The impossible pregnancy that becomes reality
Dalila was 33 years old and pregnant with her second child when she discovered she had triple-negative breast cancer, one of the most aggressive forms. “Twenty years ago I would not have been able to become a mother or overcome the disease,” she says. Instead, thanks to advances in research, she is now recovered and has two children. His case represents one of the many miracles of modern oncology science.
Stories like those of Dalila and Massimo demonstrate the concrete impact of investments in research. Since 1965, AIRC has allocated 2.5 billion euros to scientific projects, contributing to an increase of 54% in the number of people who have overcome cancer in the last ten years.
The enemy that does not retreat
Despite progress, the incidence of cancer remains high: in 2024 alone in Italy there were over 390,000 new diagnoses, more than a thousand per day. This is why the research cannot stop. “We are studying the NONO protein in multiple myeloma”, explains Elisa Taiana, researcher at the Policlinico di Milano and AIRC volunteer. “The goal is to clarify its pathological role and therapeutic potential.”
His work, like that of thousands of colleagues, requires expensive instruments: microscopes, reagents, sophisticated equipment.
Every donation, even through the purchase of chocolates, is transformed into pipettes, slides and hours of experimentation in the laboratories.
The national mobilization
The Research Days, running until November 16, see an unprecedented mobilization. RAI dedicates eight days of special programming, celebrating 30 years of collaboration that began with Pippo Baudo’s “Storie al Microscopio”. The world of football takes to the field with “A Goal for Research”: the Serie A teams and the national team support the cause in the November matches.
AIRC also joins Movember, the global men’s health movement, launching the “Synonyms & Controls” campaign to raise awareness among men about the importance of prevention. In fact, cancer affects one in two men during their lifetime.
The chocolates will also be available in Banco BPM branches from 10 November and on Amazon throughout the month, for those unable to find them in the square. Because, as the stories of Massimo and Dalila demonstrate, every contribution can make the difference between life and death.
