The OECD has produced country profiles of European countries, including Hungary, focusing on cancer. According to the report, Hungary spends significantly less on cancer patients than the EU average, with more cancer being diagnosed in Hungary than elsewhere in the EU, Napi.hu summarised the findings.
According to the OECD report, 33 percent more people died of cancer in Hungary in 2019 than the EU average, and 10 percent more cancer patients were diagnosed in the country in 2020 than the EU average. In terms of cancer-related deaths, Hungary still leads the continent by a considerable margin.
The poor figures are not surprising given that Hungary spends only 69% of the EU average on cancer patients, and that there are also significant regional disparities in patient care due to the lack of human resources in the Hungarian health system.
According to the OECD, Hungary's palliative care could also be improved, as only one third of Hungarian patients in need of it having access to hospice care, and for only a bit less than a month on average.
The Hungarian League Against Cancer (Magyar Rákellenes Liga) recently highlighted the importance of screening and healthy lifestyle in preventing the disease on the occasion of World Cancer Day, but the willingness to undergo screening is still very low in Hungary. The full OECD report is available here.
For more quick, accurate and impartial news from and about Hungary, subscribe to the Telex English newsletter!