Black statistics warn: cancer of the breast, cervix, colon and prostate takes thousands of lives every year in Bosnia and Herzegovina. A new major research shows that there are no organized examinations in our country, so we only go to the doctor when something hurts.
We go to the doctor only when the first symptoms appear – that’s how prevention in our country looks like in one sentence. Instead of the state inviting us, everything is left to chance and our own initiative.
“What is the gold standard in EU countries when it comes to preventive medicine is an organized screening program, which, unfortunately, does not exist in BiH. In BiH there is still so-called opportunistic, i.e. random screening, where the patient presents himself when symptoms have already appeared. The reports themselves contain various other indicators and weaknesses of our health system in BiH, such as, for example, the lack of integrated information systems in BiH, the lack of registers, the deficit of professional staff, the deficit of diagnostic capacities, protocols, equipment, standards and the like”. stated Dubravka Bošnjak – Minister of Civil Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The figures from the new research are more than warning. 11 women die from breast cancer every week, making it the deadliest cancer in the country. Three women die every week from cervical cancer, a cancer that is almost entirely preventable. Colon cancer takes more than 1,000 lives a year, while about 450 men die from prostate cancer.
The problem is that the system only reacts to the effect, not the cause. Even 70 percent of patients enter the hospital only when they feel that something is wrong.
“The state already has strong foundations, a legal framework, clinical capacities, and institutional expertise, however, what is missing is a systemic approach. For example, an approach in which invitations to screening automatically reach citizens’ home addresses, in which there is clear case tracking and a program that includes every woman and man who meet the requirements for examination. Today, 7 out of 10 patients enter the system only when symptoms of cancer appear. One in 5 women with cervical cancer and one in 3 with breast cancer are diagnosed with cancer only in the third or fourth stage. This can be changed by prevention. Saving one year of life through organized screening costs between 220 and slightly less than 3,000 euros, which is well below the threshold of profitable health investments”, added Justine Coulson, representative of UNFPA for Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Early detection literally saves lives, is the message of experts. And in order to change the situation on the ground, the European Union is preparing significant financial support for domestic healthcare.
“This support is part of the project of the European Plan Against Cancer, a leading initiative to improve the prevention, early detection and treatment of cancer. About 40 percent of cancer is preventable and, with better policies and stronger prevention, thousands of lives can be saved. As part of the upcoming aid under IPA 2027, the EU has allocated 11 and a half million euros for a comprehensive cancer prevention program in BiH, which will be based on the results of this project,” said Adebayo Babajide, Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Investing in prevention and modernization of healthcare are the key steps ahead. Experiences show that systematic examinations relieve the health system, but also, more importantly, allow the disease to be detected in time, he writes. N1 BiH.
