Bulgaria is lagging behind in compiling the National Cancer Plan

Bulgaria is lagging behind in compiling and adopting the National Cancer Control Plan, leading specialists in this area said at a national cancer conference held in the seaside city of Varna on October 20. If the document is adopted by the end of November, Bulgaria has a real chance to introduce the best European practices, as funding for them will be provided under European programmes, oncologists believe.

In order for the National Cancer Control Plan to be of real benefit, it should include modern and workable concepts for screening, prevention, modern treatment of patients and improving the quality of cancer care.

"The organisation of cancer care in Bulgaria is catastrophic. It does not meet any European standards. The introduction of some or other innovations such as devices or other equipment does not improve the quality", said Assoc. Prof. Dimitar Kalev, Head of the Department of Chemotherapy and Radiotherapy at the Hospital "Dr. Marko Markov" in Varna.

The main problem for the country in the treatment and prevention of cancer patients is the lack of funding.

"The funds that will be allocated under “Mission Cancer” are 3 billion euros," said Dr. Zhasmina Koeva.

According to leading oncologists, Bulgaria is lagging behind in the preparation of the National Cancer Control Plan. One of the highlights of the plan should be the creation of an algorithm for the treatment of patients.

"The algorithm is there to pritect both the doctor and the patient. And this algorithm does not pop out of nowhere. It is based on multiple years, decades and centuries of clinical experience. It's there to make sure that no matter where the patient is, whether in a small town or a big city, they will receive the same quality of care. Unfortunately, the results that we see in Bulgaria are not good at all compared to even our neighbouring countries," said Dr. Stanimir Hasardzhiev, President of the National Patients' Organisation.

Bulgaria is one of the few countries in the EU that do not have so-called comprehensive cancer centres. In them, patients receive complete care - from diagnosis, through treatment, to supportive therapy afterwards. At the same time, huge sums of money are leaking into Turkey and other countries.

"It has been proven that when a patient is treated and followed up in a specialised cancer centre, the outcomes are much better and these patients have a much higher quality of life and much greater effectiveness from the treatment they have 0:25 +1:11. In a cancer centre, there should be access to everything needed to diagnose, treat, follow up cancer patients. If there is no such direct access, it should be provided," said Assoc. Prof. Dr. Asya Konsolova - oncologist.

According to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nikola Vladov - a leading specialist in liver surgery, the creation of such centre is the step towards modernisation. Transplants have long been part of the treatment of cancer patients.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nikola Vladov: I give one example of such an oncology centre, in terms of liver-oncology diseases, is the Military Medical Academy.

Another weak link in the care of cancer patients is psychosocial support. Doctor ekaterina Vitkova explained that hospitals do not appoint psychology specialists because there is no clinical pathway for their work to be covered by health insurance.

"Our services are not included in a clinical path. Therefore, we cannot oblige any of the unit managers to recruit our staff. And mental health is an integral part of the physical health and survival of these patients," said Dr Ekaterina Vitkova.

A free-of-charge digital platform is already working in the country to help oncologists and patients. The app collects oncology methodological guides for various cancers, and this is a step forward.