June 11, 2002

The BC Cancer Agency has received inquiries from patients and the public concerning the Agency's cancer drug budget. Contrary to some recent media reports, it is important that the public is aware that the Agency's budget management plan does not contemplate a decrease or a cut to its cancer drug budget over the 2002-2005 budget management cycle.

The BC Cancer Agency is committed to providing the best level of cancer control for the resources assigned to us. The Agency provides a comprehensive cancer control program and our patients continue to benefit from the strong financial support provided by the Government of British Columbia.

New evidence-based drug therapies and continued growth in the number of patients needing chemotherapy will require an increase in drug funding between now and 2005. Fortunately, additional funding has been provided for the 2002/2003 fiscal year. Through funding from the Ministry of Health Services and the Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA), all of this year's new cancer drug programs that were formally requested and reviewed by our expert oncologists will be funded.

The PHSA's budget management plan assumes that life support issues such as increasing costs for chemotherapy drugs will be covered through additional funding. Rapid progress is being made in the area of cancer treatment, which will result in new cancer drug therapies. As new therapies become available, funding for new cancer drugs will continue to be determined through a process of establishing greatest benefit for the greatest number of individuals, and will be considered within our comprehensive cancer drug program budget. Ethical principles and public consultation will be incorporated into the process.

It is important to note that there are no cuts to the Agency's drug budget. On the contrary, the additional financial resources provided by the BC government have allowed us to fund all of this year's reviewed and approved cancer drug treatments.

For more information about the PHSA's budget management plan, including a news release issued June 10, please visit the PHSA website at www.phsa.ca.