Doctors, patients and associations have just sent a letter to the health authorities with the aim of obtaining access to a very encouraging treatment against Prostate cancer : radium 223. On the market since 2013, it allows men suffering from the disease, who can benefit from it, to increase their chances of survival by attacking in particular metastases bones. It also significantly improves the quality of life. The problem is that a single injection of radium 223 costs 5,000 euros. And up to six injections are needed…
Very little prescribed in France
This treatment is covered in 23 European countries, but not in France. Thus, it was prescribed more than 3,600 times in Germany, and only 64 times in our metropolis. Hospitals, with their limited budget, are unable to take care of them. The letter sent to 17 health representatives suggests that all these people come together to finally find a solution to this problem. It has been more than a year and a half that associations like CerHom and the APCLP have not received any concrete response. Remember that 50,000 new cases of prostate cancer are diagnosed every year. This cancer is responsible for 9,000 deaths per year.
Read also :
A single, high dose of radiation against prostate cancer
Cancer: physical activity to prevent recurrence
