Need for low-cost radiotherapy

Bangladesh needs 300 radiotherapy machines. However, government and private hospitals have only 37 machines in the country, and many of those are out of order. Two of the six radiotherapy machines at the National Cancer Research Institute and Hospital were in good shape.
However, due to the failure of those two machines, radiotherapy has been stopped in the country's only comprehensive cancer treatment hospital recently.
Four of the six radiotherapy machines in this state-owned hospital were declared dysfunctional in the last few years. Until now, the remaining two machines served 200 to 220 patients daily. However, demand far outstrips capacity.
A course of radiotherapy costs Tk 12,000 to Tk 15,000 in a cancer institute, whereas at private hospitals it is around Tk 1 to Tk 1.5 lakh. Cervical cancer usually requires 25 radiotherapy, breast cancer 15 and brain cancer 25 radiotherapy.
According to the Global Cancer Observatory (2020), 1.56 lakh new cancer patients are diagnosed in Bangladesh every year, and 1.08 lakh people die from cancer annually. According to the Bangladesh Cancer Society, there are about 13 to 15 lakh cancer patients in the country. This number indicates that increasing the number of radiotherapy facilities in the country is very important.
If immediate action is not taken, the disparity in cancer treatment in the country will increase. Cancer patients are already forced to go abroad for treatment due to a lack of adequate medical facilities in Bangladesh.
Meanwhile, the closure of chemotherapy services has again brought to the fore the structural weakness of the country's health sector. Thousands of patients are now living in extreme uncertainty.

Ashikujaman Syed
Business Development Manager
Fuyi (Xiamen) Material Technology Co. Ltd.
Xiamen, China
[email protected]