Published May 2, 2021, 2:04 PM
Recognizing that only 1,000 out of 4,000 children diagnosed with cancer receive proper care and medication, the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (DOST-PCHRD) has vowed its unwavering support to the Aruga sa Batang may Cancer (ABC) Initiative that seeks to provide a web-based pediatric palliative care service in the country.
ARUGA sa Batang May Cancer (ABC) Inititative. (Screenshot from the DOSTv Facebook page)
“The DOST-PCHRD continues to support the “Aruga sa Batang may Cancer (ABC) Initiative program that aims to alleviate health burden among pediatric patients diagnosed with cancer through the development and implementation of a website focused on the delivery of palliative care services,” DOST Secretary Fortunato “Boy” T. de la Peña said on the DOSTv Facebook page on Friday, April 30.
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The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has resulted in many patients deferring regular checkups and treatment sessions with their doctor. These interruptions in healthcare have been affecting the health and quality of life of our cancer patients.
Early this month, the Cancer Coalition Philippines (CCPh) and members of the Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Association of the Philippines (PHAP) together with the Department of Health (DoH) held the first of a series of virtual fora in order to put a spotlight on the current plight of cancer patients in the country.
“Cancer Conversations: Navigating Cancer with Patients” aimed to give patients important information such as what to do when one is diagnosed with cancer, what the support systems available are under the National Integrated Cancer Control Act of 2019 (NICCA), and where to source funding support, among others.
By Teodoro B. Padilla
In March 2020, the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) was designated by the Department of Health (DoH) as one of the three coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) referral centers in Metro Manila. As a result, a substantial proportion of the hospital’s logistics and manpower was allocated to caring for COVID-19 patients.
The PGH Cancer Institute, among other non-emergency outpatient specialty services of the hospital, ceased operations for one week to ensure the safety of cancer patients who are mostly immunocompromised and therefore have a higher risk of getting infected with the novel coronavirus. (“Treatment of cancer patients during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines,”
PASAY CITY, Feb. 8 Once enacted into law by President Duterte, the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) bill will result in a more affordable cancer treatment as the measure will exempt cancer prevention medication from the Value Added Tax, Senator Joel Villanueva said.
Villanueva, chair of the Senate Committee on Labor, Employment and Human Resource Development, said he was eagerly looking forward to the enactment of the CREATE bill which he said could serve as a milestone not only in the country s fight against the pandemic, but also in the campaign to prevent cancer and other diseases in the country.
(Pixabay / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
Villanueva said that under the CREATE bill, cancer medications will be exempted from value-added tax (VAT).
“Not only will the proposed CREATE law help our economy bounce back from the raging effects of the pandemic, it will also greatly reduce the cost of cancer medication that has been killing hundreds of Filipinos every day who cannot afford the cost of cancer treatment,” he said in a statement on February 7.
The Senate and the House of Representatives last week ratified the final version of the CREATE bill, which seeks to lower corporate income tax (CIT) and amend the country’s tax incentives system to attract more foreign investments and create job opportunities in the country.