Saatja: "Liis Sannik" <
[email protected]>
Saaja: "SM Info"
Teema: Urgent call to action: "Close the Gap” in cancer care
Kuupäev: 2024-01-11 09:46
Dear Riina Sikkut,
I am writing to you as a concerned citizen to urge immediate and meaningful
action to close the gap in cancer care across our nation. This call aligns
with the World Cancer Day campaign organised on 4 February by the Union for
International Cancer Control (UICC), the oldest and largest organisation
dedicated to reducing the burden of cancer around the world.
These gaps are often a result of social determinants of health, which create
difficulties for many people to receive reliable information and essential
cancer prevention, treatment and care even when the services are available.
This situation undermines public health and leads to higher costs to health
systems, with increased risks of developing the disease, being diagnosed
late, needing more expensive treatment and having lower chances of survival.
To mitigate these disparities, we call on you to take the following bold
steps to ensure that everyone has access to essential cancer services,
regardless of their socioeconomic status and without facing financial
hardship.
1) Increase funding for cancer research and encourage collaboration between
researchers, healthcare providers and community organisations to understand
and address disparities.
2) Establish a population-based cancer registry to guide policy decisions
and resource allocation, and evaluate control strategies.
3) Implement an effective national cancer strategy outlining the actions to
take for the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, palliation, survivorship
care, data collection and monitoring of cancer, based on an evidence-based
assessment of your country’s cancer burden, addressing financial hardship
and barriers faced by underserved populations.
4) Incorporate comprehensive cancer services into national health benefit
packages to achieve universal health coverage, encompassing prevention,
screening, diagnosis, treatment (medicines, radiotherapy, surgery),
supportive and palliative care and survivorship services.
5) Enhance health literacy and education around cancer, using culturally
appropriate materials and training for healthcare providers on effective
patient communication.
6) Regulate the production, sales and marketing of carcinogenic products
(tobacco, alcohol, ultra-processed foods) through increased taxation,
marketing limitations, improved product labelling and public education
campaigns. 30-50% of cancers can be prevented by acting on modifiable risk
behaviours.
7) Implement routine screening programmes for common cancers, integrate them
into existing healthcare programmes, and utilise telemedicine services and
mobile units to reach remote populations. The earlier a cancer is detected,
the more successfully it can be treated and with fewer costs to the health
system and to patients.
8) Foster patient-centred care that acknowledges the unique needs of all
patient populations, encouraging patient engagement in their care decisions.
9) Address the systemic social determinants of health that impede an
individual’s ability to access cancer care, tackling prejudices and
assumptions based on diverse social markers by working with communities for
more effective and people-centred programmes.
The well-being of every citizen should be placed at the core of health
policies, ensuring that everyone has equal access to life-saving care
regardless of their circumstances.
Where a person lives should not determine whether they live when it comes to
cancer.
Sincerely,
Liis Sannik
[email protected]
<http://url1111.newmode.org/wf/open?upn=VxlAuX98jGTImtRfy8qSMtssP-2F5-2BWGSOm-2FMf3IvPtquOzaJJagiRkmELYwnqe2z1NVI3UuoyqlmH204TMs7ZEA5aMRPt51zFzMhQo64HhQSfnYJQe1as6ET1giTD-2FKtVwSzaxe-2BhnNoalGHTBTXw0x6QNjKo3DKLgqkmbdo5q72rssQgCOlj3P4Dm-2F-2BIN9qU3ywvEDHE1z8CfajH7XB2U0JxrdKNi3d3XDY-2FvFS4O6J22ZjMmTlP-2FRle5GV-2BJWxMIYJoAzy4MELYTORfljFMidIVXKpr05DcMQ6w8BNYFEPf-2FPEogGO8AEz1WjWLrBfmW2LwpPjA9phGDKVbyBzKKCNETEMxia5sxqWz0TqXhyrLhJjutjRR8jZR5G-2B-2FK3q9qvGNTXwHCGso3F0UjbXAhBu4u7pvgJb8k36ryYZV8kM-3D>