World Cancer Day: a network of aid organizations complains about the lack of medication and shortage of supplies

2024-02-04 11:00:00

In it World Cancer Daywhich is commemorated this February 4, the network United For Cancer and the International Union Against Cancer (UICC) They complain about the critical reality of cancer patients, who, due to the economic situation, in many cases are without access to medication and must face a shortage of supplies for clinical studies.

“We are facing a worrying crisis in the care of cancer patients. The lack of access to medication and the shortage of supplies for clinical studies are leaving numerous individuals without the necessary treatment to overcome cancer”, they point out from the network United For Cancer.

The situation is serious: patients who depend on oncological treatments are affected by the inaccessibility of vital medications, putting their lives at risk. In addition, the delay in pathological results harms early diagnoses and the shortage of supplies for clinical studies hinders the research and development of new therapies.

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This critical situation, which was already deteriorating, they denounce, worsened at the beginning of 2024, which highlights “the urgent need for the problem to enter the public agenda.”

“We know that due to the economic crisis that our country is going through, the public health system is affected, as well as many social and prepaid works. The cuts also cause a lack of high-cost medications among numerous other problems. Today many patients are forced to abandon their treatments and many people are dying from cancer because they do not have the indicated treatment. And this cannot be allowed or naturalized,” they claim from Unidos por El Cancer.

Due to the economic situation, many patients saw their treatments and access to clinical studies suspended.

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Among the slogans that seek to deepen from the network is cancer research; establish cancer registries and formulate inclusive strategies; promote health literacy; regulate the sale of carcinogenic products such as tobacco, alcohol and ultra-processed foods; implement early detection programs; address social determinants that hinder equitable access in cancer care.

In our country, they detail, there are laws and regulations that help cancer patients have full access to the health system to survive the disease. The lack of medical supplies, furthermore, not only impacts individual patients, but also compromises progress in the daily lives of those affected by cancer.

For these reasons, they call “on the main political and social actors to commit to guaranteeing uninterrupted access to oncological medications and the availability of essential supplies for clinical research.”