Heritage Filipino fashion brand comes to life at Casa Karimadon
SEN. Bong Go reaffirmed his support for efforts that seek to make breast cancer treatments more accessible, especially for those in underserved areas.
“Many poor families find difficulties in seeking cancer treatment, including breast cancer,” Go said in Filipino on Monday. “That’s why the government, private sector, and stakeholders should coordinate to ensure that patients have cancer treatment access.”
Go said that he pushed for increased funding for the cancer assistance fund to ease the financial burden faced by patients and their families.
“Many patients had difficulties completing their treatment due to high costs, especially the poor. That’s why there is a need to strengthen the Cancer Assistance Fund,” he said.
Go sponsored and co-authored Republic Act 11959 or the Regional Specialty Centers Act.
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The law aims to establish specialty centers within existing Department of Health regional hospitals — including those focusing on cancer care — so patients no longer have to travel long distances for quality medical attention.
He also pressed for improvements in the benefits offered by the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth).
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The agency committed to introducing an expanded range of benefit packages addressing the country’s top mortality illnesses.
Go said these now cover treatments like chemotherapy for cancer patients, therapy for severe cardiac conditions, and a range of diagnostic services, including magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography scans.
The benefits have also been extended to medical transportation services and critical assistive devices such as wheelchairs and crutches, he said.
