Health strategy falls short of cancer group's funding goal
Once again the Canadian government lets the public down rather than showing leadership. The paltry $59M earmarked for cancer control over the next five years, is less than that pledged by the Canadian government for the tsunami, Hurricane Katrina and Pakistan earthquake relief.
In reading the news release it seems that the money will be used to lecture Canadians over diet and exercise. This is basically useless information. You'd have to live in a cave to have not heard the message about diet and exercise.
The government has ignored the useful information provided by the Canadian Institute for Cancer Control, which can be reviewed at http://www.cancercontrol.org/
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OTTAWA - The federal government will spend $300 million over the next five years as part of a strategy to combat major chronic diseases cancer, heart disease and diabetes.
The details of the announcement, to be released today by Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh, reflect his department's plan to reduce preventable diseases with an "integrated approach" that fosters health promotion.
However, in clustering the three diseases under a single strategic umbrella, the announcement is likely to disappoint cancer experts who had spent several years designing a national cancer control plan.
They had urged the government to spend $260 million over the next five years on a comprehensive cancer strategy to be implemented by a new council composed of cancer experts drawn from the government, provincial cancer agencies, the Canadian Cancer Society and various patients' advocacy groups.
Instead, out of its $300-million strategy, the government has set aside only $59.5 million exclusively for the cancer control initiative, to fall under federal responsibility.
Federal officials said Wednesday, however, that efforts to reduce cancer incidence and improve treatment of the disease will also be bolstered by other elements in the integrated strategy designed to jointly combat all three major chronic diseases.
"This new funding will address healthy eating, physical activity and healthy weights -- the key risk factors for some of the leading, preventable chronic diseases," says a news release to be issued today.
The federal release says that better diet, regular exercise and proper body weight can "protect against many chronic diseases," including cancer, heart disease and diabetes.
"Because major chronic diseases share common risk factors, an integrated approach is the most effective and practical way to seek to prevent these diseases and to advance health promotion," says Dr. David Butler-Jones, Canada's chief public health officer, in the news release.
The government says its strategy still allows for "disease-specific approaches where applicable."
However, Conservative MP Steven Fletcher said the new strategy falls far short of what is required to combat cancer and that the government should have adopted the proposed cancer program strategy developed by experts who spent a number of years developing it.
"The federal government is pooh-poohing it as if it is some high school project," he said.
"And yet their own approach is a half-cocked strategy for public appearances."
In reading the news release it seems that the money will be used to lecture Canadians over diet and exercise. This is basically useless information. You'd have to live in a cave to have not heard the message about diet and exercise.
The government has ignored the useful information provided by the Canadian Institute for Cancer Control, which can be reviewed at http://www.cancercontrol.org/
***
OTTAWA - The federal government will spend $300 million over the next five years as part of a strategy to combat major chronic diseases cancer, heart disease and diabetes.
The details of the announcement, to be released today by Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh, reflect his department's plan to reduce preventable diseases with an "integrated approach" that fosters health promotion.
However, in clustering the three diseases under a single strategic umbrella, the announcement is likely to disappoint cancer experts who had spent several years designing a national cancer control plan.
They had urged the government to spend $260 million over the next five years on a comprehensive cancer strategy to be implemented by a new council composed of cancer experts drawn from the government, provincial cancer agencies, the Canadian Cancer Society and various patients' advocacy groups.
Instead, out of its $300-million strategy, the government has set aside only $59.5 million exclusively for the cancer control initiative, to fall under federal responsibility.
Federal officials said Wednesday, however, that efforts to reduce cancer incidence and improve treatment of the disease will also be bolstered by other elements in the integrated strategy designed to jointly combat all three major chronic diseases.
"This new funding will address healthy eating, physical activity and healthy weights -- the key risk factors for some of the leading, preventable chronic diseases," says a news release to be issued today.
The federal release says that better diet, regular exercise and proper body weight can "protect against many chronic diseases," including cancer, heart disease and diabetes.
"Because major chronic diseases share common risk factors, an integrated approach is the most effective and practical way to seek to prevent these diseases and to advance health promotion," says Dr. David Butler-Jones, Canada's chief public health officer, in the news release.
The government says its strategy still allows for "disease-specific approaches where applicable."
However, Conservative MP Steven Fletcher said the new strategy falls far short of what is required to combat cancer and that the government should have adopted the proposed cancer program strategy developed by experts who spent a number of years developing it.
"The federal government is pooh-poohing it as if it is some high school project," he said.
"And yet their own approach is a half-cocked strategy for public appearances."
© The Edmonton Journal 2005
posted by gwg at 12:56 PM
1 Comments:
A friend of mine had the following to say about this post, "Cancer is ugly and it's hurting everyone. Nobody's listening...I've walked
this journey with too many people and I've sung at too many funerals."
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