The big dream of Oncoguia, an entity that defends the rights of cancer patients, is not the approval of innovative treatments against the disease, but something much simpler: the end of inequality in public health care.
The difficulty of ensuring that the deadlines determined by the Ministry of Health are met is, for them, the main bottleneck in cancer treatment in Brazil, as they highlighted at the opening of the 13th National Oncoguia Forumwhich took place this Tuesday (9/5) in Brasília.
At the beginning of the event, the research Perception and priorities about cancer in favelas was presented, which revealed that more than two out of ten residents of communities in Brazil prefer not to undergo tests to find out if they have cancer for fear of the prognosis.
“Access to healthcare is often denied to favela residents and this ends up generating disbelief that there is a chance of survival. We are talking about treatments that these people have the right to receive, but are often denied. It is a demonstration of disrespect precisely at the moment when the patient most needs care”, says the founder and president of Oncoguia, Luciana Holtz.
“Although cancer doesn’t choose who it hits, in a country like Brazil, inequality ends up creating a kind of social antibody — it’s the protection that money and access to information provide. It’s a matter of not having the possibility to go to the doctor or time to take care of your health… Sometimes, there isn’t even the possibility of having all the meals of the day”, says Meirelles.
In addition, the event had a tribute to Rita Lee, queen of rock who died this Tuesday (9/5) at the age of 75, victim of lung cancer.
opening table
In addition to Luciana, the Forum’s opening table was attended by Renato Meirelles, founder of Instituto Locomotiva and responsible for DataFavela; former health minister Luiz Henrique Mandetta; Preto Zezé, former president of Cufa Nacional; Ana Amélia de Almeida Vianna, oncologist and member of the Diversity Committee of the Brazilian Society of Clinical Oncology (SBOC); Fernando Henrique de Albuquerque Maia, general coordinator of the National Cancer Prevention and Control Policy at the Ministry of Health; and Elisa Prieto, coordinator of Health Determinants, Chronic Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health at the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).
“We still have a lot to build to increase equality in treatment. We had a vacuum of information about access to health in communities and the numbers found speak for themselves. We need to be alert to inform and respond before misinformation kills more”, said Mandetta. “In our country, what governs access to health today is socially determined. We need to call the state to its responsibility to make the SUS equitable. Equality is at the foundation of our system and we have to make it count,” she added.
Zezé recalled that, since the pandemic, Cufa has been in direct communication with the population of the favelas precisely to talk about health, the importance of prevention and, above all, combating denialism. “In recent years, the favela has been bombarded by fake news. We have to act like little ants,” she said.
Elisa, coordinator of PAHO, celebrated that the survey gave voice to patients who are not normally heard. “This is fundamental. Ensuring health is not just building the structure, but giving the possibility to live a dignified life ”, she pointed out.
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