There is now hope to treat breast, liver and cervical cancer with modern medicines–nkti doctor
THE dreaded Big C is now treatable, thanks to medical advances and innovations, according to Dr. Marvin Mendoza, Head of the Section of Medical Oncology, National Kidney and Transplant Institute (NKTI).
Even at stage 4 or when a cancer has metastasized to other organs— be it breast, liver, cervical—there is hope for treatment, but even more so if diagnosed early. The medicines for many different kinds of cancer are already available locally, the oncologist revealed.
Going beyond chemotherapy, the government provides targeted therapies for two types of cancer, breast and lymphoma. For breast cancer patients who cannot afford the P300,000 to P450,000 needed to go through the required 18 treatment cycles, they can go to at least 23 public hospitals throughout the country to avail of the free treatment.
“Options for treatment include 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,” Dr. Mendoza explained.
Only about 200 or so patients can be accommodated nationwide because the Department of Health (DOH) was given only less than P1 billion for this program.
Meanwhile, there are about 27,000 new cancer cases for breast cancer alone each year, Dr. Mendoza also revealed.
“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 added.
Medical innovation has progressed over the years to make treatment more effective and patient-considerate, as well as easier for health-care providers to administer, reaching more patients in a timely manner.
“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. In particular, we have medicines for breast cancer and lymphoma available in the DOH hospitals,” Dr. Mendoza added.