PUTRAJAYA, Nov 21 (Bernama) -- The Health Ministry wants the National Cancer Council (Makna) to call off its house-to-house cancer screening programme scheduled for next February.
Its minister, Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek said though the initiative was welcomed, he hoped the non-governmental organisation would first discuss the matter with the ministry to ensure the programme was carried out properly and effectively.
According to Chua, the programme meant for prevention must take into consideration cancer education and also avoid "false positive" tests.
"Besides this, there is also the question of patient confidentiality and medical ethics," he told reporters here Monday.
He said the question of follow-up action should also be considered by Makna.
"What happens if someone is screened to have cancer? It is not just a matter of conducting tests," he stressed.
Newspapers yesterday reported that Makna had allocated RM1.1 million to form a mobile cancer screening team that would go house-to-house to help in the early detection of the disease among the people.
Meanwhile, Chua said his ministry was in the final stages of formulating its Cancer Prevention Action Plan which would be presented for Cabinet approval once completed.
The plan covers among others diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation and the use of herbs or traditional medicines in the fight against cancer.
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