About 220,000 people test positive for suspected cancer in screenings each year in Taiwan, but about 20 percent never receive follow-up tests or treatment, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said on Tuesday, adding that it would allocate NT$517 million (US$16.8 million) of National Health Insurance (NHI) funding to increase the follow-up rate.
Health Promotion Administration (HPA) data showed that 121,979 people were diagnosed with cancer in 2020 — meaning that one person in Taiwan is diagnosed every four minutes and 19 seconds, the ministry said.
However, as many cancers do not have any noticeable early symptoms, they are often not detected until it is too late, it said.
Photo: Lin Hui-chin, Taipei Times
The HPA offers five types of government-funded cancer screening for adults, and about 5 million people received the screenings each year prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, but only about 80 percent of those who test positive for cancer received follow-up tests and treatment, Minister of Health and Welfare Hsueh Jui-yuan (薛瑞元) said.
Those who test positive, but do not receive follow-up tests or early treatment could develop late-stage cancers, which would have worse prognoses and require more medical resources to treat, he said.
The HPA and the National Health Insurance Administration (NHIA) are today to launch a program working with hospitals to track suspected cancer cases from government-funded screenings and assist them in getting follow-up tests and treatment, he said.
The NHIA is to allocate NT$517 million to the program, with a goal to increase the rate of getting follow-up care to at least 90 percent, which is expected to benefit about 22,000 people, he added.
HPA Cancer Prevention and Control Division Director Lin Li-ju (林莉茹) said the program would establish a comprehensive mechanism for cancer screening, follow-up testing, diagnosing, administrating health consultations and referring people for treatment.
People who are eligible for government-funded screenings are advised to get them regularly, she said.
The five types of cancer screenings are fecal occult blood tests to detect colorectal cancer, oral cancer screenings, pap smears to detect cervical cancer, mammograms to detect breast cancer and low-dose computed tomography scans to detect lung cancer.
People who receive an abnormal test result do not have to panic, but they should follow instructions provided by the clinic or hospital and get a follow-up test for confirm the results, and seek early treatment if they are diagnosed with cancer, Lin said.
Regarding whether NHI funds should be used for preventive care rather than for treatment, Hsueh said the program would achieve both, as detecting diseases in their early stages and prescribing early treatment allows for more effective control over illnesses.
For example, people who receive an abnormal result from a fecal occult blood test might encouraged to get a colonoscopy, and if hyperplastic polyps are found and removed, it would not only qualify as preventive care, but as treatment, he said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS