Anti-cancer fight stepped up
Every year 35,000 people in Switzerland get cancer and both the number of new cases and the number of deaths is on the rise.
A new national cancer programme for 2011-2015 published on Thursday by Oncosuisse, the Swiss anti-cancer association, aims to halt the spread of the disease.
Oncosuisse says it is only through a chain of measures, running from early detection through treatment with the latest methods and rehabilitation to psychosocial and palliative care that the battle against cancer can be effective.
It points out that much still remains to be done to achieve the aim of the previous programme it drew up for the Federal Health Office and the conference of cantonal health ministers for 2005-2010. The slogan of that programme was “Fewer people getting cancer, fewer dying of it”.
In particular, it says there is still an urgent need for national coordination in dealing with cancer.
It also believes there needs to be more publicity about fighting the disease, since that is the only way to achieve the necessary influence at a political level.
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