MANILA -- In line with the National Integrated Cancer Control Act (NICCA) and pursuant to Special Provision No. 13 of the Department of Health (DOH) approved budget under the General Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2022, the DOH implemented the Cancer Assistance Fund (CAF) which aims to provide support for patients living with cancer and for cancer survivors.

According to the DOH, implementation of the CAF shall cover outpatient and inpatient services including but not limited to diagnostics, therapeutic procedures, medicines, treatment and management services, and other care-related components of cancer. The CAF is designed to complement existing financial support mechanisms in public and private facilities.

The eight (8) identified priority cancer types eligible to be financed by the CAF include breast cancer, childhood cancer, gynecologic cancer, liver cancer, adult blood cancers, head and neck cancers, lung cancer, and prostate, renal, and urinary bladder cancers.

To avail of the CAF, patients and/or carers must submit the requirements to identified access sites where CAF services are made available. Required documents including prescriptions, treatment protocols, and medical abstracts shall first undergo evaluation prior to approval and availment of services.

“As part of our efforts towards realizing Universal Health Care, the CAF was developed and implemented to increase the accessibility of specialty cancer care services to many of our kababayans afflicted with this disease. Sa ating mga mga pasyente, lagi ninyong tatandaan na ang Kagawaran ng Kalusugan ay laging handang maghatid ng tulong at serbisyong pangkalusugan sa bawat kababayan natin na apektado ng sakit na ito, saan mang sulok ng bansa,” said DOH OIC Secretary Dr. Maria Rosario Singh-Vergeire. (DOH)