Cancer - How to defeat the deadly disease - Part ii

Maka Maglakelidze, deputy director of the National Center, head of the oncology department The problems are the same everywhere. First and foremost, these are probably the late-seeking patients, and the lack of access to cancer services. I would say that in Georgia we have rapidly developing medical insurance services. Medical insurance must be supported and controlled by the state. In Georgia, the main treatment of oncological patients comes through private insurance companies, which are paid by the government for oncological treatment; these patients are mostly children and retired people. People who are below the poverty line also receive oncological treatment. However, our new government is currently working on developing a public insurance program, and we hope that soon every citizen of Georgia will be able to get oncological service, diagnosis and treatment. The fact is that the biggest problem of private health insurances is that in the search for a cheaper service, private insurance companies are trying to send patients to less specialized clinics, to places where the service is available at a lower price. As a result, no definitive treatment is conducted, and these patients come to specialized cancer centers already with advanced diseases, with recurrent cases, with metastases, with progressive diseases. The treatment of such patients is of course much more costly for the state and their families than it would have been if they received correct and adequate treatment on time. Despite the fact that there are rather good screening programs in Georgia - despite all that, all the people who have passed through this screening cannot be given adequate treatment in specialized institutions. That is the biggest problem we have at the moment. Azad Kerimli, chief oncologist of Azerbaijan In the Azerbaijani Republic the topic has received considerable attention. In 2006, President Ilham Aliyev issued a decree on the treatment of cancer patients. With the implementation of this decree, in 2009, an Oncological Center was created in Baku, equipped with the most modern equipment. At the first and second stages of cancer diagnosis it is very difficult to determine its stage and acuteness, we agree with that. Therefore, this issue requires further attention. Very recently the modern Oncological Center in Baku has been built and put into operation. It provides a significant range of services, including those related to the diagnosis and treatment of the disease. Certainly, we by all means try to treat these diseases, prevent them. Last year we have entered into a new era. A Children's Oncological Center was opened in Baku at our central Oncological Center, and our children now receive the opportunity to have comprehensive screenings at the center.