Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Teodoro Herbosa joins other government officials in tackling actionable strategies to implement the primary thrusts of the administration during the Post-SONA Discussions. (Contributed photo)
NAVOTAS CITY, (PIA) – Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa has affirmed the priority thrust of the national government to improve the delivery of healthcare services for Filipino cancer patients.
“Cancer is now our number two killer. Filipinos are dying from lung cancer, breast cancer, cervical cancer, and colorectal cancer. Because of this, it’s really timely that we develop cancer centers,” said Herbosa, during the 2024 Post-State of the Nation Address (SONA) Discussions together with other government officials.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. earlier highlighted the development of two (2) major cancer treatment centers in his 3rd SONA, particularly the Philippine Cancer Center and the University of the Philippines – Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH) Cancer Center which will both rise in Metro Manila.
“These Centers will be a godsend to the more than four hundred thousand Filipinos who are afflicted with this deadly disease,” said President Marcos.
The Philippine Cancer Center, in particular, is a government-funded project under the National Integrated Cancer Control Act of 2019. This will be a 20-storey facility for cancer treatment, diagnosis, research, and education.
It will also be equipped with the proton beam therapy which has the capacity to deliver a more precise radiation treatment for cancer patients.
The UP-PGH Cancer Center, on the other hand, is a public-private partnership (PPP) project which will serve as a cancer institute model by providing a training ground for oncologists as well as cancer specialists and surgeons.
This 300-bed cancer hospital is the first PPP to be approved under the administration of President Marcos.
Meanwhile, the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) enhanced the coverage of the benefit package for breast cancer patients from P100,000 to P1.4 million which translates to over 1,000 percent increase.
PhilHealth is also projecting the inclusion of chemotherapy among the benefit packages for lung, liver, ovarian, and prostate cancer.
These efforts to strengthen cancer care were complemented by the establishment of 158 specialty centers around the country for the treatment of different diseases, including cancer. 60 of these were operationalized during the first two years of Marcos administration. (JMP/PIA-NCR)
