GLOBAL CANCER INSTITUTE (GCI), focused on survival and quality of underserved patients with cancer worldwide, has announced it is launching a new Patient Navigation Program in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The program went live in early August 2017 and is intended to help promote adherence to Brazil’s Law of 60 Days, which requires that all patients with cancer in the public health system begin treatment within 60 days of diagnosis.
Each year, 437,600 people in Brazil are diagnosed with cancer, according to GloboCan data. Another 224,700 die of the disease. Per capita health expenditures are just $715 USD, compared with $7,720 in the United States.
GCI’s new Rio Patient Nav program was modeled after its successful program in Mexico City, which reduced the time from diagnosis to referral to a cancer center from 2 months to just 11 days—helping patients receive the care they need more quickly and improving their chance of a full recovery.
Paul Goss, FRCP, MB BCh, PhD
Currently, adherence to Brazil’s Law of 60 Days is spotty at best, according to Paul Goss, FRCP, MB BCh, PhD, Director of Breast Center Research at Massachusetts General Hospital and Founder and Chairman of GCI. “In developing countries, it’s not unusual for months to pass between a diagnosis and start of treatment. And 30% of the time, cancer patients are lost to follow-up completely,” said Dr. Goss. “Of course, the longer the delay, the more advanced the disease becomes. Many of these patients end up in emergency rooms months or years later with advanced cancers.”
The 1-year program will involve 100 patients from the public hospital system. It is based out of Rio Imagem in Rio de Janeiro.
To learn more or donate, visit http://globalcancerinstitute.org/. ■
