Even though the Federal Government's major cancer plan was put in place nearly 15 years ago, Belgium is still above the European average in terms of cancers diagnosed per capita, the latest OECD report on cancer shows.
More than 70,000 cancer diagnoses are recorded in Belgium every year – a figure that continues to rise. On average, one man in three and just over one woman in four will develop some type of cancer before their 75th birthday, the report shows.
"When you read this report, you realise that the government has made very little progress on this issue, which is set to worsen as the population ages," said Catherine Fonck, leader of French-speaking centrist Les Engagés in the Federal Parliament.
Passing the hot potato
"Our 2009 cancer plan is completely out of date in terms of scientific knowledge. We have obvious strengths in terms of care, but we also suffer from some worrying weaknesses," she told La Dernière Heure. "Our screening rate is far behind schedule, even though cancers diagnosed later cause more suffering and less chance of survival, as well as being more expensive. Given the quality of our care, we are supposed to be among the leaders."
In concrete terms, the number of cancers in Belgium has soared by 30% in the space of 15 years. To fight this increase, Fonck stressed the urgency of putting a new, solid roadmap in place.
"The fact that we have not made significant progress in terms of screening and access to care is also because of the constant ping-pong between the nine ministers responsible, who pass the hot potato on key issues," she said.
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"We are going round in circles, to the detriment of patients," Fonck stressed. "We need to be able to make quick, strong decisions because we have lost a legislative term here, and I am afraid that the negotiations in 2024 will take another year, but we cannot afford to lose so many years."
Remarkably, the OECD study also shows that Belgium's five-year survival rate is higher than the European average for the most common cancers as well, demonstrating that cancer care is performing well. For example, one woman in eight develops breast cancer in Belgium, but the five-year survival rate is 90% – a world record.
