NEGERI SEMBILAN: Cancer can be a major cause of financial hardship for patients. The ACTION (ASEAN Costs in Oncology) study showed that more than 75% of cancer patients in Southeast Asia experience death or financial catastrophe one year after diagnosis.
Nilai Medical Centre (Nilai Medical) launched the NMCares Targeted Therapy Welfare Programme today. The purpose of this programme is to help relieve the financial burden of HER2-positive breast cancer patients.
Nilai Medical collaborated with Roche Malaysia, one of the market leaders in oncology, to support these patients in need via Roche Cares, a tripartite co-payment model.
Patients will be able to gain access to targeted therapy at a subsidised cost under the NMCares Targeted Therapy Welfare Programme and stand to save up to more than half of their treatment costs.
HER2-positive cancer is an aggressive type of breast cancer that grows and multiplies rapidly, and affects 1 in every 5 breast cancer patients worldwide2. HER2-positive breast cancer has traditionally been associated with poor prognosis.
This strategic collaboration complements Nilai Medical’s Cancer Assistance Programme, NMCares, which was launched in July 2020 as a long-term programme. A total of RM 8 million allocations is to be disbursed over a five-year period to reduce the financial burden of treatment costs for Malaysian cancer patients.
Datuk Dr. Haji Noor Azmi Bin Ghazali, Deputy Minister of Health Malaysia, welcomed the partnership. In a video message to launch NMCares Targeted Therapy Welfate programme he said, “The Covid-19 pandemic has affected many Malaysians both financially and socially. The Government has provided various stimulus packages to reduce the financial burden of our communities.”
“The Ministry has embarked on public-private partnerships during the Covid-19 pandemic to reduce the congestion at Government hospitals. We hope to continue strengthening such partnerships in cancer care to ensure the continuity of patients’ treatment,” he added.
Present to witness the launch was Datuk Dr Kuljit Singh, President of the Association of Private Hospitals Malaysia (APHM); Lance Duan, General Manager of Roche Malaysia and Jasmine Lau, CEO of Nilai Medical Centre.
For more information on NMCares Targeted Therapy Welfare Programme, contact the WeCare Ambassadors at wecare@nilaimc.com / 010 – 219 9838 or visit www.nilaimc.com or ‘Like’ their Facebook page.
