Foundation eases the burden of cancer patients
By Rita A. Widiadana
JAKARTA (JP): Cancer is an indiscriminate disease, a leading killer worldwide, second only to heart diseases. It strikes the rich and the poor.
In Indonesia, cancer affects about 100 out of 100,000 people annually. Unfortunately, only a small number of these people receive medical treatment.
"Treatment for cancer-related diseases is very costly and only a few cancer sufferers have access to proper medical care," Mrs. Karlina Umar Wirahadikusuma, chairperson of the non-profit organization Indonesian Cancer Foundation, said.
Due to various reasons, including ignorance and poverty, only about 50 percent of all people affected by cancer receive medical attention, she pointed out. Some 40 percent of those who finally do see doctors and are treated in hospitals cannot recover because their illnesses have reached advanced stages.
In l989, cancer was the sixth leading cause of death in Indonesia. Today it ranks as the country's fifth major cause of death. Cancer of the cervix accounts for 73.2 percent of all female cancer sufferers, followed by breast cancer, lymphoid cancer and skin cancer.
According to data from the Ministry of Health, Indonesia sees an additional 190,000 people affected with cancer each year. At least one fifth of those are terminal cases.
There are more than 100 types of cancer, but all have in common an uncontrollable growth and spread of abnormal cells. Many people mistakenly believe that a diagnosis is a death sentence. Survival rates are increasing as more earlier diagnoses are made.
"It is a pity that many people are still unaware of the danger of cancer. It is high time for us to fight cancer before it claims more victims," she adds.
Established on April 17, l977 by seventeen prominent figures, including former vice president Moh. Hatta, the late minister of health G.A. Siwabessy, former Jakarta governor Ali Sadikin and Sudarto Pringgoutomo, the foundation is painstakingly trying to provide various facilities to help ease the burden of cancer sufferers, in particular among low-income groups.
The foundation is a member of the Switzerland-based International Union Against Cancer and a member of the Asia Pacific Federation of Organizations for Cancer Research Control.
The foundation has branches throughout the country's 27 provinces. The foundation has set up a cooperation with the Program for Appropriate Technology in Health and has developed a manual, for health educators and trainers, containing basic information on various types of cancer. To disseminate information on cancer nationwide, the foundation cooperates with local organizations, such as provincial health institutions, and the family welfare movement.
The foundation also carries out several courses, including Hospice Home Care, which is aimed at equipping medical staff and volunteers with information on how to guide families on treating and living with people who have terminal cancer.
There are actually many more programs that have yet to be implemented. Due to financial constraints, these programs, such as research and education, are yet to be implemented.
"Our main concern now is to raise as much funds as possible to help low-income cancer sufferers get proper medical attention," Emma Hassan, another member of the foundation, said.
The foundation, for instance, provides medical assistance and allowances for low-income sufferers nationwide, to enable them to obtain medicines. The foundation also has the right to sell drugs for treating cancer at half the market price, Emma explained.
The foundation spends about Rp 100 million (US$44,444) annually on its activities.
"We urgently need donations from the public because the foundation has to support many more cancer patients," said Emma.