In February 2021, the European Commission
\nlaunched Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan, whereby it allotted \u20ac4 billion to fund
\ncancer prevention, research and treatment programs across the EU. Shortly
\nafterwards, Romanian authorities starting transposing this plan into national
\nlaw. Last month saw the launch of Romania’s National Anti-Cancer Plan, which
\nfirst and foremost lays out the standard protocol cancer patients must observe,
\nfrom the first signs of the disease until the completion of therapy. Moreover,
\nthe plan is based on a multidisciplinary approach: cancer patients can seek
\ntreatment from a team of specialists. This extended approach, involving
\nprevention, screening, diagnosis, treatment and palliative care, also involving
\nrecovery and reintegration, entails a strategy that only a multidisciplinary
\nteam can elaborate and provide to the patient. Finally, the plan brings to the
\nfore innovation, research and patient-oriented medicine, as Diana P\u0103un, a
\npresidential healthcare advisor, has told Radio Romania.<\/p>\n
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The plan was patterned on the European
\nplan itself, there are clear deadlines for every objective. There are 11
\nobjectives in total, with specific goals for specific types of cancer that we
\nhave factored in, namely those forms that are most frequent in Romania:
\ncolorectal cancer, breast cancer and cervical cancer for women, lung cancer and
\nprostate cancer for men, but also leukemia and childhood cancer. There are
\nspecific deadline-related goals spanning until 2026. Of course, we want to
\nimplement some goals before that, for instance national screening programs for
\ncertain types of cancer such as breast, lung or colorectal cancer are supposed
\nby finalize by January 1, 2023. A National Cancer Register, an important and
\nnecessary measure, is expected to be up and running by 2024, and by 2026 we
\nplan on creating a healthcare innovation fund, with multiple financing sources,
\nthat should provide Romanian patients with quick access to new therapies in due
\ntime. <\/p>\n
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Due to system-wide underfunding, access to
\nnew drugs is very difficult for Romanian patients compared to elsewhere in
\nEurope, which is why the plan also seeks to provide Romanian patients with
\nquick access to new drugs and state-of-the-art screening methods, Diana P\u0103un
\nsays. <\/p>\n
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A central element in the new plan is the
\nfocus on medical innovation and research and on digital solutions. The pandemic
\nhas taught us to resort to these means in order to communicate and benefit from
\nall the findings of research. The plan has a clear objective that must be
\nimplemented by 2023: to come up with criteria that should allow for
\nreimbursements of genetic testing, which is the latest medical breakthrough in
\nthis field, genetic cancer markers that can predict the risk that a certain
\nindividual develops a specific type of cancer. And if we know in advance what
\ntype of cancer to expect in certain individuals, we can prevent the disease or,
\nif the disease is already active, prescribe better-targeted and patient-oriented
\ntreatments that should generate less adverse reactions and increase chances of
\nrecovery. <\/p>\n
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Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan will divide
\nits billion-euro funds to each member state depending on projects established
\nat national level. The Plan allows for great financial opportunity, Diana P\u0103un
\nargues, and hopefully researches, physicians, hospital managers and
\ninstitutions in Romania will try to access these funds, based on a strategic
\nconcept that experts have already provided. Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan, which
\nwas used as a model for Romania’s own plan, provides four main pillars with
\nseparate funding. The first refers to prevention, namely raising public
\nawareness and accountability with respect to healthy living: avoiding smoking,
\nalcohol abuse, healthy eating, preventing pollution. The second pillar has to
\ndo with screening, namely early diagnosis. Right now, Romania has a single
\ncancer screening program for colorectal cancer, although there are numerous
\ntypes of cancer such as breast cancer or lung cancer that require screening
\nprograms. A third pillar refers to diagnosis using state-of-the-art methods and
\ninnovative treatments. The last pillar refers to access to palliative care, an
\naspect that has been neglected for a long time in Romania. According to
\nofficial data, some 2.7 million cases of cancer and 1.3 million related
\nfatalities were reported in Europe in 2020. In Romania, figures speak of
\napproximately 99 thousand new cases and over 54 thousand cancer-related deaths.
\n(VP)<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Authorities have launched a national anti-cancer program<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":108,"featured_media":156656,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[43939],"tags":[44657,44659,44661,44656,44658,44660],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-156655","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-future-starts-today","tag-cancer-prevention","tag-diagnosis","tag-diana-paun","tag-europes-beating-cancer-plan","tag-screening","tag-treatment-and-palliative-care"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n