Improve Coverage of Cancer Drugs and Treatments in NL Medical Care Plan
- Target:
- Government of Newfoundland & Labrador
- Region:
- Canada
- Website:
- www.cancer.ca
~ More than 1 in 3 people in Canada will be diagnosed with cancer.
~ Cancer treatment is a financial burden on patients & their families.
~ Newer cancer drugs taken outside the hospital, which are usually the patient’s responsibility, cost an average of $73,000 per course of therapy.
~ New treatments & drugs are not always added to provincial drug coverage lists quickly enough.
~ Access to effective & affordable treatment, including drugs, devices, & therapies, is critical.
~ Government can help save more lives & improve the quality of life for cancer survivors by including these drugs and treatments in provincial drug plans.
~ This would be a cost-saving move over time, as more patients would be able to access drugs and treatments to improve their health, which would help to keep them out of hospitals and clinics.
Dear Minister:
We the undersigned are concerned that many cancer patients in our province who need drugs to treat their cancer may not be able to afford these medications.
Newer cancer drugs taken outside hospital (which are therefore the patient’s responsibility) now cost an average of $73,000 per course of therapy. Only the wealthiest people can afford this without insurance. Also, new treatments and new drugs are being developed all the time, but are not always added to the provincial drug coverage list in a timely manner, if at all.
We believe that access to effective and affordable treatment, including drugs, devices, and therapies, is critical. There are many barriers to accessing treatment, including the financial burden on patients for their drugs, medicines, devices, and therapies.
Government can help save more lives - and improve the quality of life for cancer survivors - by including in provincial drug plans those drugs taken by patients at home as well as those administered in the hospital. Also, the process for approving newer drugs and treatments needs to be streamlined so that these remedies are accessible to patients earlier. In most cases, timely treatment is of crucial importance to people diagnosed with cancer.
This issue is important to every resident of this province. By improving access to treatments, therapies, and supplies, government would save much more over the long term than it would spend. Patients who have access to the necessary therapies will keep themselves healthier and will stay out of the health care system, freeing up resources for others.
According to the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer, more than one in three people in Canada will be diagnosed with cancer, and many of them are in need of financial help to be able to afford their drugs, treatments, and supplies.
I want the provincial government to provide additional financial assistance for cancer drugs, treatments, and therapies.
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The Improve Coverage of Cancer Drugs and Treatments in NL Medical Care Plan petition to Government of Newfoundland & Labrador was written by Canadian Cancer Society and is in the category Human Rights at GoPetition.