Cancer, heart, kidney patients increase sharply [ Tritiyo Matra News ]

Cancer, heart, kidney patients increase sharply

Local September 16, 2015

The incidence of cancer, heart diseases and kidney ailments increased sharply among all sections of people in recent years but many of them find the high costs of treatment simply unaffordable.
These non-communicable diseases are leaving serious burdens on families.
Patients lose their livelihoods making their dependants worst sufferers.
Though the treatments are available at select public and private hospitals in the country, particularly, in the capital, the common folks find the costs beyond their reach.
According to a survey report of the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics released in June, the prevalence of heart diseases, cancer and arthritis increased sharply since 2000.
The incidence of heart diseases rose to 6.59 per thousand in 2014 from 1.6 in 2000, shows the report.
According to the National Health Accounts released by the government in January per capita health expenditure increased to $27 in 2012 from $16 in 2007 when the previous National Health Accounts were worked out.
The World Health Organization estimated the minimum annual health expenditure per person in the developing countries at $44.
But the government’s share in per capita health expenditure declined to 23 per cent from 27 per cent in five years ending in 2012, showed its National Health Accounts completed in 2007 and 2012.
As a result individual citizens are compelled to bear an increasing expenditure to access treatments, show the studies conducted by the government’s Health Economics Unit.
Now, individual citizens have to bear over 63 per cent of their health care expenses, one of the highest in South Asia, according to Bangladesh National Health Accounts.
Health expenditures became a huge burden on most of the citizens in Bangladesh, said Bangladesh Health Rights Movement chairman professor Rashid E Mahbub.
He told New Age that health care expenses pauperized the country’s middle income groups.
But the affluent groups face no problems as they easily fly to India, Thailand, Singapore, USA, UK and Malaysia to get the needed treatments.
The prevalence of cancer per 1,000 people rose to 0.71 in 2014 from 0.4 in 2000, according to the latest survey on health and morbidity status.
A ‘Comprehensive update on cancer scenario of Bangladesh’ conducted by former chairman of Oncology Department at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University Syed Md Akram Hossain in 2013, found approximately 15 lakh cancer patients in Bangladesh.
It says that every year about two lakh new cancer patients are diagnosed.
Akram said that the high cost of cancer treatment pauperized many patients.
He said that even middle income groups cannot afford treatment of cancer.
A cancer patient needs to spend a minimum of up to Tk five lakh to get proper treatment, involving surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and most of the patients find the expenditure prohibitive, said BSMMU oncology department chairman Sarwar Alam.
Last month, 18-year old clone cancer patient Zakir Hossain died in Chapainabganj as his parents could not provide him chemotherapy.
His mother Rehana Khatun laments saying, ‘We did not have the money to provide him chemotherapy.’
Similarly, the common people find the treatment costs of cardiovascular diseases unaffordable, said doctors.
Now, approximately 50 public and private hospitals across the country provide treatment of cardiovascular diseases.
But only National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases in the capital and the Chittagong Medical College Hospital provide cardiac surgery at relatively low costs.
Drug eluting stents cost between Tk1.3 lakh and Tk1.4 lakh at the NICVD.
Private hospitals charge up to Tk two lakh for a stent.
A pacemaker costs between Tk 75,000 to 80,000 at NICVD, but private hospitals charge over Tk one lakh for it.
According to the Health Bulletin published by the Health Services in 2014 around 10 lakh cardiovascular patients took treatment at the out patient department of NICVD and 2,49,454 others took admission in it between 2008 and 2013.
Hypertension is prevalent among 20 to 25 per cent of the country’s adult population, according to the latest survey on cardiovascular diseases conducted by National Heart Foundation.
It also shows 1.2 adults per thousand are suffering from rheumatic heart disease while eight out of 1,000 new born suffer from congenital heart diseases.
Former NICVD director Abul Hossain Khan told New Age that many patients of cardiovascular diseases cannot afford the treatment costs though they were reduced a lot in last two decades.
Although there is no dependable data of kidney patients, approximately two crore people are suffering from a host of kidney ailments, said doctors.
Lab Aid, United, Square, Kidney Foundation and a few more private hospitals have modern equipment which they use to provide treatment to kidney patients in the last stages.
But their treatment cost are extremely high, said BSMMU Nephrology Department chairman and Bangladesh Renal Association president Muhammad Rafiqul Alam.
A kidney patient has to spend between Tk three and a half lakh and Tk seven lakh to avail treatment at a private hospital, he said.
According to the National Liver Foundation of Bangladesh, hepatitis, cirrhosis and liver cancer became common ailments in the country.
Between four to seven per cent people in Bangladesh have hepatitis B, one to three per cent have hepatitis C and about 3.5 per cent pregnant women have hepatitis B viral infection.
National Liver Foundation of Bangladesh founder and senior liver physician Mohammad Ali said the costs of liver diseases very high and unaffordable for many of the patients.
He said a liver patient needed to spend Tk. 50 lakh to have liver transplantation.