The expense for the care of cancer patients fell into Social Security 29.1%, from 8,452.1 million pesos in 2022 to 5,990 million in 2023.
During the same period, the number of patients treated in the IMSS fell from 121,023 to 107,700. In Breast cancerthe number of patients went from 71,439 to 59,586 in 2023, and by Cervical cancerfrom 20,236 to 17,415.
IMSS attributes the fall in patients treated with breast cancer and cervical cancer to an improvement in the institutional cancer registry ”
Judith Méndez, author of the CIEP analysis.
For the population without social security, spending on actions related to Cancer care in women was reduced by halffrom 1,329.3 MDP in 2017 to 629.1 million pesos in 2023, a cut of 52.7%. The biggest cuts were observed in breast cancer and cervical cancer.
The supply of oncological medicines in hospitalized patients had a reduction of 69.1 million pesos.
“To the budget challenges is added the deficit of physical and human resources for early prevention, detection, attention and control of cancer,” says the expert in her report.
He ISSSTE is the only institution where cancer spending has increased, with a total of 7,428 million pesos in 2023 and an increase of 8% in the number of patients treated.
Cancer resources decrease despite the World Health Organization (WHO) projects that in 2045 more than 360,000 new cases in Mexico will be recorded.
In 2022, 89,574 deaths from malignant tumors in Mexico and 2023 were 91,562, that is, 2.2% more, according to INEGI statistics.
Since 2019, public hospitals have battled with the irregular supply of oncological medicines, which caused families of people with cancer, especially children, protested on several occasions. That year, the zero shortage collective received 1,163 complaints due to drug shortages. This situation reached a maximum in 2021, with 3,706 complaints.
For 2022 and 2023 the supply of medicines improved a bit, but continued to accumulate complaints: 1,461 and 1,383, respectively.
This Friday, the Ministry of Health resumed the work of the National Women’s Cancer Committee (CNCM), dedicated to strengthening actions aimed at combating this disease.
“It is imperative to reinforce the vaccination strategy in terms of human papillomavirus and promote strategies that lead us to increasingly early diagnoses in order to improve the prognosis of patients,” said the Secretary of Health, David Kershenobich.
