NKTI cancer expert wants more funds for testing

MANILA, Philippines — A medical expert is calling for more government funds to be allotted to testing for cancer in order to save more lives.

Dr. Marvin Mendoza, who heads the National Kidney and Transplant’s medical oncology section, noted that there are 27,000 new breast cancer cases detected each year.

“If we have to save more lives, we need more funds from the government not just for treatment but for testing, because early diagnosis and treatment is far more effective than treating late-stage disease,” he said in a statement on Friday.

Mendoza said that breast cancer patients who cannot afford the 18 treatment cycles totaling P300,000 to P450,000 “can go to at least 23 public hospitals throughout the country for free treatment.”

Among the options for treatment are “a subcutaneous injection that takes about five minutes to administer or a three-hour intravenous administration that also requires an additional two hours or so for preparation,” Mendoza said.

However, only about 200 or so patients can be accommodated nationwide because the Department of Health (DOH) was given only less than P1 billion for its cancer treatment program, according to Mendoza.

“Given today’s medical advances and innovations, cancer is now treatable,” he said.

Mendoza said that even at stage four, or when cancer has metastasized to other organs “there is hope for treatment, but even more so if they are diagnosed early.”

“Medical innovation has progressed over the years to make treatment more effective and patient-considerate, as well as easier for healthcare providers to administer, reaching more patients in a timely manner,” he said.

Mendoza declared that “we can beat cancer now. We can save lives. And we are trying our best to make treatment accessible nationwide, especially to those who cannot afford the treatment.”

He noted that the medicines for various types of cancer are available locally.

“The government provides targeted therapies for two types of cancer, breast and lymphoma. In particular, we have medicines for breast cancer and lymphoma available in the DOH hospitals,” Mendoza said.