National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan (second from left) presents gift packages to child cancer patients (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Child cancer patients fromdisadvantaged backgrounds need more treatment assistance, said NationalAssembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan while visiting the Vietnam NationalChildren’s Hospital in Hanoi on January 22.
The top legislator expressed her concern overthe fact that most cancer patients, over 70 percent, do not come in fortreatment until the later stages of the disease.
There are a great number of cancer patients,especially those without health insurance cards, in need of urgent help, Ngansaid.
She added that for those children with cancerwho do look to undergo treatment in the long run, many come from disadvantagedbackgrounds and families that cannot afford the costs.
As such, many health workers have donated their money to helpsupport their patients, Ngan said.
The NA Chairwoman hailed the hospital’s SupportiveFund for Cancer Patients – Bright Future, which has been used effectively overthe past seven years.
Through the fund, the hospital has supportedtreatment and presented gifts worth over 24 billion VND (one million USD) formore than 24,000 disadvantaged cancer patients across the country.
The fund provides medicine for cancer patients ata total cost of over 400 billion VND (17.2 million USD).
In2018 alone, the hospital provided medical checkups for more than 1 millionchild patients and treated almost 100,000 child inpatients.
Last year, Vietnam reported around 164,000 newcancer cases nationwide, 1.5 percent of which are children, and 114,000 resultingin death.
On this occasion, 100 child cancer patients undergoingtreatment at the hospital were presented with a gift package and 1 million VNDeach, sponsored by the Supportive Fund for Cancer Patients – Bright Future.-VNA
VNA
