Tablet offers hope for cancer sufferers

Sari P. Setiogi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A new tablet as an alternative treatment to chemotherapy for lung cancer may bring new hope for patients, however, as its price is formidable it is still beyond the reach of most people.

Oncologist Ahmad Hudoyo told journalists here on Tuesday that the tablet might be the future of cancer medication.

"We have been looking for a future chemotherapy treatment which is affordable, easy (to undergo) and has no side effects. Nausea, hair loss and diarrhea, which are the common side effects of chemotherapy, do not occur while taking this medication," Ahmad said.

The tablet will soon be available, however it is still costly, said Ahmad.

Priced at about Rp 600,000 (US$66) per tablet, the tablet should be taken daily for six months.

At the moment, the new drug is only available in the United States, Japan, Canada and Australia.

Ahmad said a 60-year old patient of his showed improvement after taking the tablet. "Her X-ray result shows the shadowy area on her lung has become less significant," said Ahmad.

In other words, the tumor shrank as the medicine prevented the cancer cells from growing.

However, Ahmad said the tablet worked best for non-smokers who have cancer. "There will be contra indications for smokers," he said.

There are four therapies for lung cancer at the moment, with the cost of each ranging from Rp 2 million to Rp 50 million.

Surgery is available for patients in the early stages, radiotherapy for a further stage -- about 30 sessions, chemotherapy for advanced stage and palliative care in the last stages to give a better quality of life to patients.

Ahmad said only some 5 percent of lung cancer patients in Indonesia had surgery. "The main problem is late detection as no symptoms appear during the early stages. A routine check-up will detect it," he said.

Other reasons were the high cost and people's attempts at trying alternative medicine first.

Lung cancer is the third largest cancer in Indonesia after cervical cancer and breast cancer.

"No exact figures are available on the number of lung cancer patients. However, in the Persahabatan Hospital (East Jakarta), in 1985 we had about 50 patients annually and in 2000 the figure went up to 400," said Ahmad.