Cancer treatment is now free for all residents in Qatar: Official

Doha: Treatment of cancer at the Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) oncology department is free for all residents, a senior official with the department disclosed.

Dr Osama Al Homsi, Hamad Medical Corporation’s National Centre for Cancer Care and Research Hematology and Oncology Chairman and Senior Consultant, said in aninterview with the Arabic Daily Al Arab, that the treatment at HMC is free for all residents.

“Before, the state covered 80 percent of the oncology treatment for resident patients and the rest 20% was paid for by the cancer patient. However, recently the remaining 20% is also covered to provide free treatment to citizens and residents,” he said during the interview.

“There is continuous progress in the treatment of tumors and medicine in general and we are keen to bring everything new in the treatment of tumors, especially with regard to drugs, especially immunological drugs, and have a good impact in controlling diseases. There are lots of researches happening in this area and this leads to positive results. We will import any medicine that we need for the health of our patients to be included in the list of recognized medicines in the country,” he added in the Al Arab interview.

“Providing treatment free of charge to all patients helped many patients, especially since 20% of the amount can sometimes be large, because of the high price of cancer drugs. This was a good decision by the State and we are happy with such a decision,” Dr Al Homsi said.

According to the department’s statistics, the proportion of Qataris receiving treatment abroad has decreased significantly during the past years, and many have become willing to receive treatment in Qatar.