Find ways to reduce cost of treating breast cancer
SPECIALIST IN reconstructive surgery Dr Guyan Arscott says that a way must now be found to reduce the costs of treating breast cancer. He argues that the costs associated with the treatment of the disease, including medication, are too high, considering how common the condition is. He says that significant government input is needed and suggests that Caribbean governments must lead the way in lobbying drug manufacturers in the same way they lobbied for and got significantly reduced prices for medication used to treat HIV/AIDS.
While focus is placed on required treatment options such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy, Arscott says that Jamaican women who, like other women, are concerned about image, should be told about the option of reconstructive surgery. His preferred term for the procedure is “rebalancing”. He posits that a woman is less stressed when she is not worried about “how she looks”. Arscott says that Jamaica should move in the direction of the United States, where breast cancer patients are told about their treatment options, including reconstructive surgery. He says that it is available in Jamaica in both the private and public sectors.
However, Gleaner research shows that at a cost of between $600,000 and $800,000 per breast, it is prohibitive for most patients, and some doctors are unwilling to give of their time free in the public sector.
Arscott says that the Government and health insurance carriers could modify policies to provide better coverage for many more Jamaicans, for example, select groups of workers such as teachers, nurses, the police, and civil servants. “We should also find ways and means to fast-track a fairly high standard of cancer management in the public sector,” he said.
In the meantime, Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton, when asked whether policy changes were being contemplated that would help reduce the cost of cancer drugs and treatment, said that the ministry continued to promote primary prevention and early detection. That, in turn, prevented risk factors such as physical inactivity, unhealthy diet, tobacco use, and alcohol abuse which, along with early detection, reduce costs. Tufton said that the evidence showed that the interventions were critical to preventing disease and intervening early in the disease process to reduce cost. “This is one of the motivations for the JaMoves campaign,” he said.