Closing the gap on cancer care is not solely the responsibility and burden of the Government.

No matter how a person gets lung cancer, it should not impact the care they get or the empathy they receive.

Approximately 49,000 people in Malaysia were estimated to be newly diagnosed with cancer in 2020.

The government has repeatedly emphasised its commitment to the implementation of improved cancer control and prevention strategies to reduce incidence, mortality and increase cancer survival.

Ignoring cancer care now may turn one public health crisis into many others.

Last year, the Ministry of Health released the findings of the Malaysia National Cancer Registry Report 2012–2016. The findings were bleak.

We need to increase early detection, expand effective treatment, provide care, and improve survival.

There is ongoing concern that with the COVID-19 crisis, cancer and other chronic diseases are having less priority. Malaysia recorded an 11.3 per cent increase in new cancer cases from 103,507 in 2007-2011 to 115,238 in the 2012-2016 period. With…

We need local-level, granular data that is integrated with social and economic indicators.

The health component of the upcoming 12th Malaysia Plan must have a solid commitment towards ensuring that health initiatives which address the NCD crisis are grounded in reality and are fully funded.

The needs of chronic patients requiring pain management and palliative care have been absent from the discussions surrounding the impact of the MCO imposed because of the Covid-19 crisis.

“The release of this report gives us an opportunity to take stock, review and evaluate the successes and failures from implementation of this plan. We should know what investments worked, those that didn’t and respond to gaps in resources.”

This World Cancer Day, it cannot be business as usual.

We must stop blaming patients for defaulting their treatment or for not coming forward earlier for diagnosis.

Earmarking this revenue, along with that collected from tobacco and alcohol, will help address the current shortfall in funding for NCD prevention programmes.

We recommend, as a pilot programme, that the Government earmarks an initial 5 percent from the collected sin tax revenue to strengthen NCD health promotion and treatment, focusing initially on diabetes and cancer.

Patients must continue to be at the centre of policy-making which directly affects them.

More than 80 percent of these recommendations came from patients and their caregivers.

The Cancer Care Working Group aims to help influence public policies which improve outcomes, treatment and care of cancer in Malaysia.

In the 2016 edition of the Economist’s War on Cancer, Malaysia is estimated to record a 49% increase in breast cancer cases between 2012 to 2025. This is worrying as Malaysia recorded the lowest rate of five-year survivorship rate as well as the highest rate of mortality and incident rates in the region.

Competition provides for the possibility of better and improved treatment options, lower drug prices, increased affordability and coverage.

The Pakatan Harapan Manifesto made a pledge to increase allocations and incentives to encourage the private companies and welfare bodies in the treatment of rare diseases, especially among the needy and families with children with special needs.

Increasing existing treatment coverage and the quality of care available should not be described by mere words, rhetoric and grand announcements but by firm commitments from both the public and private sector.

The financial realities of living with cancer.

With the right public health approach to palliative care, we can improve the quality of life those who are living longer with chronic non-communicable diseases.

Reforms in cancer care are needed.

Cancer is the 4th most common cause of death in the country.

Malaysia as an upper middle income country has the opportunity and ability to improve its response to cancer.

A resource microsite for cardiovascular-renal-metabolic syndrome in Malaysia.

Sugar subsidies will wipe out any revenue gained from SSB tax increase.

Malaysia currently has one of the lowest sugar prices in the world. This is not something to be proud of.

More than 5 million of the Malaysian population are living with chronic kidney disease.

We need local-level, granular data that is integrated with social and economic indicators.

The health component of the upcoming 12th Malaysia Plan must have a solid commitment towards ensuring that health initiatives which address the NCD crisis are grounded in reality and are fully funded.

The Disease Control Division of the Ministry of Health and the Galen Centre for Health and Social Policy organised a closed-door roundtable discussion with multi-sectoral stakeholders on 16 December 2019 to discuss diabetes in Malaysia.

Addressing diabetes prevention is not simply about ‘health’.

Earmarking this revenue, along with that collected from tobacco and alcohol, will help address the current shortfall in funding for NCD prevention programmes.

We recommend, as a pilot programme, that the Government earmarks an initial 5 percent from the collected sin tax revenue to strengthen NCD health promotion and treatment, focusing initially on diabetes and cancer.

Influencing what people buy by making healthy food options more affordable to increase their consumption has been shown to be the most effective policy.

Sugar subsidies will wipe out any revenue gained from SSB tax increase.

Malaysia currently has one of the lowest sugar prices in the world. This is not something to be proud of.

We need local-level, granular data that is integrated with social and economic indicators.

The health component of the upcoming 12th Malaysia Plan must have a solid commitment towards ensuring that health initiatives which address the NCD crisis are grounded in reality and are fully funded.

With non-communicable diseases increasing significantly each year and cases of people with chronic kidney disease having more than one or more comorbidities such as diabetes, this is an ongoing funding problem that will not go away simply by excluding a group of people.

The Disease Control Division of the Ministry of Health and the Galen Centre for Health and Social Policy organised a closed-door roundtable discussion with multi-sectoral stakeholders on 16 December 2019 to discuss diabetes in Malaysia.

Addressing diabetes prevention is not simply about ‘health’.

The government is already spending billions of ringgit on managing existing cases in the public healthcare system and the predominantly curative approach cannot be sustained.  

Fighting non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, cancer and obesity is a long game and requires vision, committed investments and political will to ensure that we are able to reap the results of a healthier people and nation.

There has been no move to earmark the revenue collected for the purpose of health, specifically and directly funding non-communicable disease (NCD) prevention, control and treatment.

We recommend, as a pilot programme, that the Government earmarks an initial 5 percent from the collected sin tax revenue to strengthen NCD health promotion and treatment, focusing initially on diabetes and cancer.

Earmarking this revenue would help address the shortfall in funding for prevention programmes.

Influencing what people buy by making healthy food options more affordable to increase their consumption has been shown to be the most effective policy.

A resource microsite for stroke prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation in Malaysia.

Providing the best care in treating stroke requires investing in strengthening links in a chain of survival and better outcomes.

A resource microsite for stroke prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation in Malaysia.

Malaysians are currently living amidst a NCD crisis.

Providing the best care in treating stroke requires investing in strengthening links in a chain of survival and better outcomes.

We need local-level, granular data that is integrated with social and economic indicators.