NA Rep Kang ‘Increase gov't support to treat breast cancer'

Rep. Ki-Youn Kang points out the need to increase state’s support for severe cancers

The number of female cancer patients is significantly higher than that of males

It has been pointed out that the government should strengthen economic support for innovative new drugs that treat severe diseases to improve the treatment rate of breast cancer patients.

 

The number of female cancer patients is significantly higher than that of male cancer patients in the same age group, and the number of breast cancer patients has been steadily increasing since 2020 until last year, raising the need for measures.

 

On the 12th, Rep.

 

Ki-Youn Kang of the People Power Party made this claim based on the statistics submitted by the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service.

 

According to the number of cancer patients by age in Korea over the past 3 years, there were more cancer patients among women than among men.

 

Among the same gender, the proportion of female cancer patients in their 40s and 50s was significantly higher.

 

As of July this year, there were 173,066 female cancer patients in their 40s, which accounted for 10.3% of all cancer patients.

 

This figure is more than 3 times higher than that of the 3.4% taken by male cancer patients in the same age group (56,619 patients).

 

The number of female cancer patients in their 50s accounted for 15% (252,058 patients), which was more than twice as high as the 6.9% (115,482 patients) of male cancer patients in their 50s.

 

In addition, even within the same gender, the proportion of female cancer patients aged between 0 to those in their 30s accounted for 1.3% and 4.2% of the total cancer patients, respectively, while the number of patients in their 40s or older increased explosively to account for double digits.

 

In particular, among all female cancer patients, the number of breast cancer patients has been steadily increasing, from 242,945 in 2020 to 262,839, then to 281,114 in 2021, and the number of patients has also been higher than that of other cancers.

 

In the case of breast cancer, its 5-year survival rate is 90%, but for Stage IV patients, the rate plummets to 34%, indicating the importance of receiving treatment on time.

 

However, patients in Korea cannot easily use innovative drugs due to their high cost, and many patients are thus giving up treatment.

 

This is why the government's economic support for serious diseases is urgently needed.

 

Rep.

 

Ki-Youn Kang said, “In no case shall Kore give rise to a saying such as ‘the rich live longer, and the poor die faster’ where patients are unable to receive treatment due to lack of treatment costs.

 

Receiving drug treatment on time can greatly help improve survival rates, and the Yoon Suk-Yeol administration has also set the prompt listing of treatments for severe diseases to ease the burden of high medical costs as a national task, the relevant ministries must have the will to strengthen support for serious diseases.”