Diagnosed with breast cancer last year, 52-year-old Irene is more fortunate than most as she is not beset by worries about the cost of her treatment.
“A husband of a friend who is also a victim of breast cancer said: ‘When we were young, we used our lives to earn money and now we are using our money to earn back our lives,’” she said, referring to the exorbitant cost of treatment.
While the rate of breast-cancer deaths has steadily decreased in the UK, the US and Australia since 2000, breast cancer remains Taiwan’s leading cause of cancer deaths in women, with almost 7,000 cases diagnosed each year.
Chang Tsai-wang (張財旺), a doctor at National Cheng-Kung University Hospital’s Department of Surgery, told a press conference in Taipei yesterday that breast-cancer deaths increased by between 30 percent and 40 percent from 1992 to 2003.
Many breast cancer victims are not trying newly developed medicines, such as Herceptin, as these are not covered by health insurance, said Chang King-jen (張金堅), chairman of the Foundation for Breast Cancer Prevention and Treatment.
Tseng Ling-ming (曾令民), from Taipei Veterans General Hospital’s Department of Surgery, said the government should allocate more funds on medical treatment, adding that President Ma Ying-Jeou (馬英九) and Vice President Vincent Siew (蕭萬長) had proposed raising health expenditure from 6.2 percent of GDP to 7.5 percent during their election campaign.
“Former US president Richard Nixon passed the National Cancer Act in the US in 1971. The US has increased its cancer survival rate from 50 percent to 63 percent,” Tseng said, emphasizing the need for the government to act on the issue.
“Breast cancer victims who are not financially well-off suffer from stress and other emotional issues, adversely affecting their appetite and their immune system. As a result, they are less able to fight the cancer,” Irene said. “Even the rich wonder how much cancer treatment will affect their financial well-being.”
“What price would you put on a life?” the foundation asked.
Without adequate insurance coverage or government support, many breast cancer victims are unable to receive new treatment that would decrease their risk of death, it said.
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a southwestern extension of the Sanying MRT Line from New Taipei to Bade District (八德) in Taoyuan, with a goal of starting construction by late 2026. The 4.03-kilometer extension, featuring three new stations, will run from the current terminus at Yingtao Fude Station (LB12) in New Taipei City to Dannan Station (LB14), where it will connect with Taoyuan’s Green Line, New Taipei City Metro Corp said in a statement. This extension will follow the completion of core Sanying Line, a 14.29-kilometer medium-capacity system linking Tucheng (土城), Sansia (三峽)
CARGO LOSS: About 50 containers at the stern of the ‘Ever Lunar’ cargo ship went overboard, prompting the temporary closure of the port and disrupting operations Evergreen Marine Corp, Taiwan’s largest container shipper, yesterday said that all crew members aboard the Ever Lunar (長月) were safe after dozens of containers fell overboard off the coast of Peru the previous day. The incident occurred at 9:40am on Friday as the Ever Lunar was anchored and waiting to enter the Port of Callao when it suddenly experienced severe rolling, Evergreen said in a statement. The rolling, which caused the containers to fall, might have been caused by factors including a tsunami triggered by an earthquake in Russia, poor winter sea conditions in South America or a sudden influx of waves,
The Ministry of Culture yesterday officially launched the “We TAIWAN” cultural program on Osaka’s Nakanoshima sandbank, with the program’s mascot receiving overwhelming popularity. The cultural program, which runs from Aug. 2 to 20, was designed to partner with and capitalize on the 2025 World Expo that is being held in Osaka, Japan, from April 13 to Oct. 13, the ministry said. On the first day of the cultural program, its mascot, a green creature named “a-We,” proved to be extremely popular, as its merch was immediately in high demand. Long lines formed yesterday for the opening
The Taipei Summer Festival is to begin tomorrow at Dadaocheng Wharf (大稻埕), featuring four themed firework shows and five live music performances throughout the month, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said today. The festival in the city’s Datong District (大同) is to run until Aug. 30, holding firework displays on Wednesdays and the final Saturday of the event. The first show is scheduled for tomorrow, followed by Aug. 13, 20 and 30. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Disney Pixar's movie Toy Story, the festival has partnered with Walt Disney Co (Taiwan) to host a special themed area on
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