Dear Editor:
Despite revolutionary medical advances and remarkable efforts to expand health insurance coverage via Medi-Cal, the health outcomes of our communities are inconsistent with these improvements; the women who have suffered from breast cancer treatment delays demonstrate this truth best.
With health care expenditures consuming 18% of the nation’s GDP, policymakers should critically evaluate where these dollars are going and whether these expenditures are most transformative of health outcomes. Even with increased funding toward research and insurance coverage, women still were unable to access adequate care because of an overwhelmed and ineffective health system.
More focus (and funding) should be directed towards breast cancer prevention, not only in the arena of screening. As important as it is, screening only catches cancers that already have developed. Resources must be dedicated to addressing both the genetic and environmental factors that contribute to breast cancer. Starting at the true source, social determinants of health, will have the greatest effects overall.
Sincerely,
I definitely agree with you in that breast cancer patients should not have to wait that long to see a doctor given that we spend such a huge portion of the nations GDP on health. That said, cancer is widely prevalent and treatment is costly. Therefore, channeling more money to cancer might be tough as it may require cutting back funding from other ailments. Thus, it may be more feasible if the gatekeeping system was removed for patients with cancer. The long wait seems to arise from having to see a primary care physician before being referred to an oncologist. Perhaps we should consider a "fast track" system bypassing the primary care physicians for patients who are suspected to have cancer.
ReplyDeleteIt is alarming that considering how much of the GDP is spent on health care, we still have women progressively getting sicker as they wait for proper care. It isn’t just the money spent on health care, either. The money pouring into cancer research is astounding, and yet we still have needless deaths. However, because there is no definitive cure for cancer, what is most important is focusing on preventative medicine and educating women about early detection. I agree that addressing social determinants of health is the best way to start, since allocating more money to treatment will take time. Topics such as genetic predisposition for breast cancer and regular self-checking are one of the most important topics to educate women about. Hopefully in the future, a combination of early self-detection and more funding for resources will cut wait times and relax gatekeeping efforts.
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