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The government of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador should encourage medical research and maintain dialogue with health institutions, in order to know their needs and avoid budget cuts that impact on the quality of life of patients, said Vicente Valero, head of the Ministry of Health. Department of Medical Oncology of Mama, in the MD Anderson Cancer Center of the University of Texas.
At the Best of American Society of Clinical Oncology 2019 congress, in which Valero received recognition for his career and contributions in oncology, he emphasized that cancer and metabolic diseases are a public health problem in the country, so the authorities should invest in research and promote universal access to existing treatments.
“Cancer in general has increased its incidence in Mexico; together with the metabolic affections are the most important challenges of the Health sector. You have to work for patients to access treatments and improve their lives; to achieve this, there must be collaboration between society, researchers, doctors and government, “he said.
Before the budgetary cuts in Health, Valero called the government to maintain the dialogue with the holders of the institutes and hospitals, besides promoting the national investigation.
“To address cancer, coordination between the government and the health sector is vital, only in this way can the quality of life of patients be improved, and in spite of the cuts, dialogue must be sought, work hand in hand with research. Mexico must be a world leader in this matter; the intellectual level exists, you just have to support more, “he said.
He added that to make spending on oncology more efficient, it is essential to have a National Cancer Registry, “then you will know where it is standing, what happens to patients, what treatments have better results, with precise figures the government will know what it invests in, what it is giving results and that no, it is with concise information that it will be able to help the population, “he said.