Improving SUS is a priority in the fight against cancer – 09/26/2023 – Balance and Health

Improving SUS management was highlighted as a priority by experts interviewed in a survey promoted by the Movimento Todos Juntos Contra o Câncer (TJCC) in partnership with the Oncology Observatory.

The results were released at the opening of the 10th All Together Against Cancer Congress, promoted annually by the institution, this Tuesday (26), in São Paulo.

Mediated by journalist Rodrigo Bocardi, public health experts and authorities discussed the challenges and prospects for treating the disease in the country.

According to Catherine Moura, member of the TJCC strategic council, it is necessary to overcome the argument that only with more investment is it possible to improve the system. Neither she nor the experts interviewed in the survey deny that the injection of resources is important, but they defend the optimization of the use of existing infrastructure.

Ana Maria Malik, doctor and professor at FGV, agrees. According to her, “there will never be money for everything in healthcare”, but it is possible to explore alternatives in care through monitoring, teleconsultations and a care transition model that starts in non-specialized primary care until the adoption of measures such as palliative care.

The WHO (World Health Organization) points out that cancer is one of the main causes of morbidity and mortality in the world and should continue to be so in the coming decades.

Alone, it was responsible for 9 million deaths in 2018. By 2030 the number of cases is expected to increase by 60%, reaching around 24 million people. According to Inca (National Cancer Institute), in Brazil, 700 thousand cases are identified each year.

André Medici, senior health economist at the World Bank, explains that the upward trend is influenced by complex and interrelated factors, such as the aging of the population, late diagnosis, lifestyle, inequality in access to healthcare, environmental factors and chemical exposure, lack of awareness and improvements in data recording, which increase access for some families to diagnoses.

For the expert, combating the disease depends on international collaboration. “Developed countries are somehow articulating themselves into international research centers. But we also need to have policies adjusted to the specific systems and needs of each country,” he says.

In America, the disease is already the second biggest cause of death, according to Jarbas Barbosa, director of Opas (Pan American Health Organization). The professor highlights the need to combat risk factors — such as obesity, smoking, hypertension and diabetes — to prevent the onset of the disease. He also highlights the importance of international cooperation in designing strategies to mitigate the numbers.

Brazil is a country with public policies that serve as a model for the international system. This is the case of the Uterus is Life project, for the detection of HPV. The papillomavirus is a sexually transmitted infection that causes cervical cancer, one of the most common among Brazilian women, which can be prevented with vaccination.

Fernando Maia, general coordinator of the National Cancer Prevention and Control Policy, reinforces the need to combat the virus. “It is not possible that in 2023 we will have women dying from cervical cancer, which is traceable, preventable and treatable,” he says.

The government hopes to launch a strategy to prevent the disease next year.

Among the government’s actions, federal deputy Silvia Cristina (PL-RO), president of the Special Commission to Combat Cancer, who participated via videoconference, adds that the National Plan to Combat Cancer, the result of discussions in the collegiate, already has a report and should be presented soon.

Despite the new guidelines, the SUS faces obstacles in implementing the decisions. Luiz Antonio Santini, former general director of Inca and researcher at the Center for Strategic Studies at Fiocruz, states that the pandemic was a tsunami that invaded the network and disrupted its internal organization.

It will be necessary, he adds, efforts to guarantee the functioning of new public policies in practice.

Nelson Teich, former Minister of Health, agrees. “Everything that doesn’t happen in practice is useless.”

He adds the importance of overcoming Brazilian regional inequalities. “It is necessary to have regionalized data. GDP per capita varies 120 times between Brazilian municipalities, while income per capita varies 300 times.”

“Management is not intuition. Management is data, technique, information”, he concludes.

Pascoal Marracini, president of the Brazilian Association of Philanthropic Institutions to Combat Cancer, highlights the desire of other organizations to help in the fight, but criticizes the limitations of the system. “We, as philanthropists, want to help, but we need to be heard. We are limited by the problems of physical and financial ceilings. We want to work, let us work.”

The 10th All Together Against Cancer Congress takes place on the 26th, 27th and 28th of September, in São Paulo, in online and in-person formats. There will be, in total, around 200 speakers, including teachers, patients and authorities.