High rate of cancer cases leads to poverty
>> Health minister claims unsafe food not major cause for cancer
75,000 people are dying from cancer every year and their families often face huge debts after their deaths.
Nguyen Thi D. from Hanoi said they had spent hundreds of millions of VND after her husband was diagnosed with liver cancer. Since he doesn't have health insurance, they were forced to borrow money from friends. She has to sleep under the hospital's staircases to save money during the treatment process that lasts for months.
According to Tran Thanh Huong, vice head of the National Hospital of Cancer, the patient pays for 48% of the treatment cost. Meanwhile, over 73% of asked patients have health insurances. Those who don't have health insurance are not poor households but they are being impoverished due to high treatment costs.
"63.5% said they had to borrow money from friends or relatives, 27.2% used their savings which were meant for other purposes, 19.9% borrowed money from banks or other organisations or individuals and 13.7% sold furniture and other belongings," Huong said.
After 12-months of treatment, most families can no longer afford medical consultancy, tests, accommodation costs and even their children's school fees. The economic toll from six types of cancer is nearly VND26trn (USD1.1bn), accounting for 0.22% of the country's GDP.
Nguyen Ba Duc, vice head of Vietnam Cancer Association, said the risk of getting cancer was higher because of toxic chemicals in various products such as pesticides, preservatives, burnt food and a lack of dietary knowledge.
Truong Dinh Bac, Deputy Head of the Health Ministry's Preventive Medicine Department, said 75,000 people in Vietnam died from cancer every year. Ethanol in poor-quality alcohol was also blamed.
"Alcoholic drinks can cause throat, larynx, oesophagus, colorectal, liver and breast cancers. The more you drink, the higher risk that you face," Bac said.
Many people are being impoverished because of cancer
Nguyen Thi D. from Hanoi said they had spent hundreds of millions of VND after her husband was diagnosed with liver cancer. Since he doesn't have health insurance, they were forced to borrow money from friends. She has to sleep under the hospital's staircases to save money during the treatment process that lasts for months.
According to Tran Thanh Huong, vice head of the National Hospital of Cancer, the patient pays for 48% of the treatment cost. Meanwhile, over 73% of asked patients have health insurances. Those who don't have health insurance are not poor households but they are being impoverished due to high treatment costs.
"63.5% said they had to borrow money from friends or relatives, 27.2% used their savings which were meant for other purposes, 19.9% borrowed money from banks or other organisations or individuals and 13.7% sold furniture and other belongings," Huong said.
After 12-months of treatment, most families can no longer afford medical consultancy, tests, accommodation costs and even their children's school fees. The economic toll from six types of cancer is nearly VND26trn (USD1.1bn), accounting for 0.22% of the country's GDP.
Nguyen Ba Duc, vice head of Vietnam Cancer Association, said the risk of getting cancer was higher because of toxic chemicals in various products such as pesticides, preservatives, burnt food and a lack of dietary knowledge.
Truong Dinh Bac, Deputy Head of the Health Ministry's Preventive Medicine Department, said 75,000 people in Vietnam died from cancer every year. Ethanol in poor-quality alcohol was also blamed.
"Alcoholic drinks can cause throat, larynx, oesophagus, colorectal, liver and breast cancers. The more you drink, the higher risk that you face," Bac said.
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