Resources to care for women with breast cancer are reduced by 37% | TRENDS

Within the framework of International Women’s Day, patient associations came together under the hashtag #LaIndiferencia Also EsViolencia to warn about the cut in funds for breast cancer care. According to the Economic Transparency portal of the Ministry of Economy (MEF), the Health sector has this year an Institutional Opening Budget (PIA) of only S/ 33 million, unlike the S/ 53 million of 2021.

Despite being the second type of Cancer most frequent in Peru, with 19 daily cases, and the deadliest among women with 5 deaths every 24 hours, according to the Global Observatory of Cancerthe item for the staging and treatment of Cancer breast contracted almost 20 million soles. That is, 37% between 2021 and 2022. Staging is the study of the size, location and extension of a tumor, so it is necessary to know the severity of each case and thus plan the best treatment.

“We are concerned that, despite having a National Law on Cancer enacted seven months ago, resources continue to be taken from patients as if there were no rule that protects them. That is why the publication of a regulation that respects the contributions of the associations is urgent, since we know what people with this disease suffer. Also that guarantees the continuity of treatments and establishes deadlines for the entities responsible for their authorization. Civil society and specialists must have a voice and a vote in the fight against Cancer”, pointed out Karla Ruiz de Castilla, director of the NGO Esperantra.

Given this, the campaign #LaIndiferenciaTambiénEsViolencia of cancer patient associations seeks to awaken the solidarity and empathy of Peruvians in the face of the Government’s lack of interest in meeting the needs of women who suffer from this disease.

It is worth mentioning that the decrease in resources also affected the purchase of medicines for the care of this neoplasm. At the beginning of 2021, it was projected to invest more than S/ 16 million in pharmaceutical products, now in 2022 less than S/ 6 million. It is known that our country has a gap of at least 15 years in access to new cancer treatments. The regulation pending publication by the Minsa could shorten it due to the new negotiation mechanisms that it would implement.

“We need energetic measures from the Executive to unblock the regulations of the National Law of the Cancer. It cannot be that, due to bureaucracy, a historical norm cannot be executed for the country. Also that the Complementary List of Oncological Medicines be updated annually. Two years have passed and this delay prevents Peruvians from accessing better technologies that mean a better prognosis and better quality of life. As representatives of civil society, we demand transparency and participation in the decisions that affect our lives,” said Susana Wong, director of Lazo Rosado Peru.

Bureaucracy is one of the great barriers denounced by oncology patient associations. In our country, between the approval by Digemid and the inclusion in the PNUME of antineoplastic drugs, 20 years can pass, 05 years more than in Colombia. This delay in access to innovative medicine can translate into loss of life.

It is important to highlight that, through Ministerial Resolution No. 159-2022-Minsa, the ministry established between 2.2 and 4.4 Tax Units (UIT) the cost-effectiveness threshold of health technology assessments. The associations hope that this amount does not create more gaps for access to innovative treatments, violating the fundamental right to health.

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