IT was inspiring to read the letter by Azrul Mohd Khalib, “Quiet anger over cancer care” (The Star, Aug 8). I am feeling the joy of recovering from spine cancer recently. While undergoing treatment, I met hundreds of cancer patients in the hospital and it is on their behalf that I would like to share the problems most, if not all, of them face in their fight with the disease.
Foremost is the financial problem, as within six months to one year, one patient has to spend a few hundred thousand ringgit in a private hospital. Each chemotherapy session costs between RM1,500 and RM6,000 and some patients need to have treatment weekly.