Cancer patients set for state hospital access

Medical Service Department director-general Dr Rawat Visarutavej said his agency is discussing details of the legislation with the National Cancer Institute. The law would not only give cancer patients access to treatment across the nation, but would also give all citizens a chance to detect the disease in its early stages.

All cancer patients would be registered in state hospitals and given immediate access to treatment. Moreover, hospitals will also provide free cancer-screening tests.

Records from the National Cancer Institute show that cancer is the top killer in this country, with some 60,000 people losing their lives to the disease every year and 100,000 new cases diagnosed annually.

However, at present there are only 30 state hospitals and clinics nationwide that offer cancer treatment.

To give all cancer patients access to medical care, the law would have the government allocate enough funding for state hospitals to improve and develop facilities, particularly in the rural areas, said National Cancer Institute chief Dr Thiravud Khuhaprema.

The government should also allow additional funding for cancer research, he added.

Rawat said this easy access to treatment and early screening should dramatically cut down cancer-related deaths. The Medical Service Department is drafting the legisaltion and should submit it to the Cabinet within the next six months.