By Irena Belohorská - 24th November 2008
“Rare tumours should be highlighted with particular attention given to the significant survival differences for the same type of rare cancers”
Irena Belohorská MEP
We all know that cancer is one of the most frequent causes of death in Europe, which can be prevented. This problem concerns a triangle of patients, professionals and politicians.
I am a keen follower of newly discovered technologies and the latest developments in the area of health. The results of the developments in the field of medical science are amazing and the progress is astonishing.
However, the problem concerns the application of these modern methods, as they are extremely expensive. As a politician, I know that not everything that is needed can be delivered.
Besides exchanges of information and mutual help between patients, medical and research centres, there is another priority that should be tackled at EU level.
Creating and financing the networks of centres of excellence should represent the base for a long-term development of medical oncology, supported by the research centres in the field.
The laws of the market have the same effect whether they affect basic products, medicines or cost of treatment. I also see the necessity of using more financial resources from EU structural funds, especially those devoted to tackling the problems of rare cancers. We need to do more to explore the possibilities of using money from EU funds on the health agenda.
By creating networks, sharing experience and training and disseminating knowledge, the EU hopes to achieve an integrated approach and deliver a coordinated response to this major concern.
Moreover, within these programmes, rare tumours should be highlighted with particular attention given to the significant survival differences for the same type of rare cancers.
Effective treatments are available for several rare cancers, but further research is needed to ascertain why survival is lower in some European countries than in others, particularly in older patients.
Concerning the new directive on cross-border health care and patient mobility, I do take issue with the system of reimbursement of treatments by national insurance companies. In the current proposal, the treatment is reimbursed to the patient, who was treated abroad, to the maximum amount the treatment would cost within their national health service.
However, these maximum costs represent only a fragment of the expense for the patient in the states where they have been treated. Cross-border healthcare is becoming unavailable for many patients, the majority from eastern Europe, and thus the treatment of patients with rare cancers is less effective.
I feel that it is necessary to create a European register of rare cancer diseases, where it is clearly defined which types of diseases require which specific treatment. Within this register, it would then be possible to apply for the treatment in selected hospitals available to everyone, no matter what nationality they are.
