The Ministry of Health and Welfare yesterday unveiled an NT$80 million (US$2.52 million) pilot program to provide free psychological counseling to people with cancer.
The initiative, which would start in July at the earliest, would be a joint venture between the ministry and the Formosa Cancer Foundation — expanding upon an ongoing collaboration, Department of Mental Health Director-General Chen Po-hsi (陳柏熹) told a news conference in Taipei.
The current version of the program mainly serves people with lung, head-and-neck or breast cancer, largely due to the availability of psychological specialist care, Chen said.
Photo: CNA
The initiative would broaden the eligibility requirements of the program to include people with other types of cancer, increasing the number of beneficiaries to an estimated 8,000 people from 4,290, he said.
Certified psychological care professionals would decide which people with cancer are in sufficiently severe mental distress to qualify, he said, adding that the type and frequency of counseling would also be needs-based.
The highest-risk patients would receive up to 12 free counseling sessions, medium-risk patients would receive up to six free sessions, and low-risk patients would be eligible for classes and other forms of emotional support, Chen said.
The program would alleviate the economic burden on people with cancer, who typically pay for counseling out of pocket, he said, adding that family members would also be eligible for mental health support via the policy.
The plan’s implementation would start with 12 public hospitals that specialize in tumor treatment, a decision partly based on their expertise in catering to the mental health needs of patients, he said.
The department plans to expand subsidized psychological care for cancer patients as a standard part of the National Health Insurance (NHI) package for tumor treatment, depending on the trial’s success, Chen said.
NHI Administration (NHIA) Director-General Chen Lian-yu (陳亮妤) said that people with tumors are 5.5 times more likely to commit suicide than the population at large, a risk that can be mitigated by 41 percent with robust mental health care.
NHIA Deputy Director-General Lin Li-ju (林莉茹) said that Taiwan reports 13,000 new cancer patients per year, while 62.3 percent survive five years following an initial diagnoses, a 10 percent improvement in survival rate compared with a decade ago.
Increased survival means that the mental health of people with cancer can no longer be ignored, Lin said.
The ministry has established 105 cancer resource centers and 66 certified cancer treatment hospitals, including the 12 that would be tasked with conducting the pilot mental health program, she said.
The government’s vision is to create a holistic healthcare program for people with cancer to support them with psychologists, psychiatrists and social workers on the community level, Lin said.
Foundation deputy director Tsai Li-chuan (蔡麗娟) said many people with cancer face immense mental anguish, not only from the fear of death, but also strain on their relationships, family life and loss of control.
Cancer treatment must be transformed into holistic care centered on quality of life in addition to boosting survival rates, Tsai said.
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