The new plan of the Ministry of Health, focuses on cancer patients, with the goal of improved prevention, diagnosis and modern treatments.
Significant changes in how the fight against cancer in the country were announced by Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis, while presenting the upcoming measures regarding oncology care, services for patients, and the comprehensive reorganization of efforts for prevention and treatment. Speaking at the conference of the Hellenic Cancer Federation — ELLOK, the minister highlighted the reforms that have already been implemented, such as the National Neoplasm Registry, the Oikothen program , and the home delivery of high-cost medications, emphasizing that the goal is to reduce patient burden and provide more immediate, effective , and patient-centered care to cancer patients. At the same time, it announced the implementation of new procedures to develop a comprehensive national cancer strategy, with the participation of patients and their advocacy groups in planning the next steps.
What we have already done has shown that when the Ministry of Health says it is committed to improving the quality of treatment services provided to cancer patients, it means it.
Productive collaboration
With these words, Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis began his opening remarks at the conference organized in Athens by the Hellenic Cancer Federation — ELLOK — in Athens.
“I believe we have built among ourselves a sincere, but above all, extremely productive collaboration. I don’t want to dwell on what we’ve done—you already know about the platforms and all the other decisions we made together and implemented with ELLOK,” he said.
As he noted, among all the initiatives, the National Neoplasm Registry stands out, and among the new platforms for oncology patients, the “Oikothen” program, “which I believe has significantly changed the way treatments are administered to chronic oncology patients in a truly impressive way. It’s the first program I’ve ever seen in my life where, in response to the questions we sent regarding acceptance rates, it achieved 100% acceptance.
I’ve never seen 100% before. Even the most successful programs have typically been at 70%, 80%, or 90%. I’ve never seen 100% before,” he said.
He also referred to the home delivery of high-cost medications, a reform that, as he emphasized, has also greatly reduced patient inconvenience.
“Negotiations on the biomarkers are now being finalized so they can finally be implemented.
Now, allow me to say a few words about the future. The time has come to implement the national action plan. The working group we are setting up will be headed by Mr. Kapetanakis, whom I am also entrusting with the responsibility of putting it together.
“The National Cancer Action Plan concerns you first and foremost, and us—the politicians—secondarily,” A. Georgiadis emphasized.
So here we are—as he said—to do something that, in the long term, will affect your lives and your families and will coordinate efforts across ministries, not only for the current government, but also future governments—toward a common goal. “So, essentially, it is you who must tell us what to do. That is the meaning behind my decision.”
I believe we’ll be ready to sign them in the future. We have a procedural issue, and it’s one of the changes at the Ministry of Health that we’re waiting for the new Secretary General to publish in the Government Gazette.
But we’ll be moving forward on this in the coming days, and I believe we’ll accomplish quite a few things that will also make us very proud in the future, the Minister of Health concluded.
