One in four Romanians has had at least one experience with cancer, and 5.2% have been diagnosed with a form of cancer, which represents a total of some 840,000 people, according to research conducted by Center for Innovation in Medicine (InnoMed) and market research company IMAS.

Slightly over 21% of respondents have/had a family member diagnosed with cancer at some point, which corresponds to a total of 3.34 million Romanians, reports local Csid.ro.

The study also reveals that a large part of Romanians are not optimistic when it comes to cancer: 45% of respondents believe that the cancer diagnosis always leads to death.

The most common fear among Romanians when it comes to cancer is that it can’t be cured (26.6%), according to the research. Other concerns are the lack of effective treatments (7.4%), the unavailability of treatment in Romania (7.1%), the lack of money for treatment (5.8%), and the fear of the diseases itself with everything it involves (7.6%).

More than two-thirds of Romanians (65%), whether or not they were diagnosed with cancer, believe that the state fails to provide appropriate treatment for patients with cancer. Moreover, three-quarters of respondents think that it takes too long for newly discovered drugs to get to patients in Romania.

Almost half of Romanians (46.3%) see family as the primary support in the fight against cancer, followed by new technologies (30.1%), and doctors (16.5%). Only 1% believe that the authorities represent the main support in case of a cancer diagnosis.

“The Ministry of Health has a trust rate of only 39%, the public hospitals being the only ones ranking lower, with a share of 35%, with the mention that the data was collected before the disinfectants crisis. However, 66% of Romanian say they have confidence and great confidence in doctors,” said doctor Marius Geanta, president of the Center for Innovation in Medicine (InnoMed).

More than a third of Romanians have heard of revolutionary scientific concepts that are already part of the current oncology therapeutic reality, such as the personalized medicine and immuno-oncology. Respondents associate these therapies with higher costs so only 16% say that they could easily afford to cover the costs of modern treatments for cancer, and 44% don’t see the possibility of making the necessary payments for innovative treatments.

The data were collected between April 1 and April 20, 2016.

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Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com