beacon Hospital Launchesโ RM309โค Lung โCancer Screening Campaign inโฃ Malaysia
Kuala Lumpur, โMalaysia -โข Beacon Hospital has partnered โwith KALSIS to offer โLow-Doseโ computed Tomography (LDCT) โlung cancerโ screenings at RM309, a notable reduction from the โคaverage cost of โขRM600, in โคan effort โto improve early detection rates in โฃMalaysia. The campaign aims to address โขthe โgrowing incidence โof lung cancer and the fact that 60 to โค70 percent โof early cases are asymptomatic.
The initiative โleverages institutional investment channeled through KALSIS, a social enterprise founded by the Teoh โฃfamily in 2006, โคto close the cancer care gap. “What we’re doing is channelling that from institutional investors behind KALSIS to โขeffect such outcomesโ for systemic good,” โขsaid Teoh. “Whatโค we want to do โขis look atโข how we can harness today’s capital markets to better close โขthe cancer care gap at scale as weโ realizeโค that theโฃ government โcanโ only do so much.”
According โขto the Department of Statistics Malaysia’s (DOSM) 2024 report on causes ofโ death, trachea, bronchus, and โคlung cancerโฃ is currently the fifth leadingโ cause of death inโข the โขcountry. Despiteโ this, only โค10โค percent of the Ministry of โขHealth’s (MOH) cancer budget is allocated to โearly lung cancer detection, with 65 to 70โ percent spent on oncology drugs for late-stage treatment.
Dr. Vijayan โnoted accomplished outcomes inโค other countries, โขciting a โ32 percent โคreduction โin late-stage lung cancerโฃ cases in Japan โand aโข 20 percentโ reduction in the โUK through the implementation of low-risk CT scans. โค”So โIโฃ think in the Malaysian viewpoint, even for early lung cancer, awareness programmesโค should be โincreased considerably so that the โขnumber ofโข cases โคwe diagnose withโ late โขcancer will eventually โreduce,” he said. Currently,โ approximately 70 percent of lung cancer cases in Malaysia are diagnosed at a late stage.”Early detection savesโค lives,”โ stated Beacon Hospital CEO โฃHoe Cheah How. “By making advanced screening such as LDCT more accessible and affordable, we’re removing barriers so more โpeople can takeโฃ action before it’sโค too late. This isn’tโ just about โขtests -โฃ it’s about giving every person โa fair chance forโ more healthy years ahead withโฃ their loved ones.”
Dr. Muralli described the investment inโ preventative screening as a “no-brainer.”
