The government agreed to invest 4,200 billion VND in proton radiotherapy system at K Hospital and Cho Ray Hospital.

Chairing the announcement of the decision to appoint two Deputy Directors of Cho Ray Hospital on the afternoon of March 6, Deputy Minister of Health Tran Van Thuan announced good news for the health sector nationwide. That is, the Government has agreed to invest in building two proton radiotherapy systems to treat cancer.

"Yesterday, at the meeting chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai, the policy of building two proton radiotherapy centers was unanimously approved. The one in the North is expected to be located at K Hospital, and the one in the South is expected to be located at Cho Ray Hospital," Deputy Minister Tran Van Thuan affirmed.

He added that the estimated cost of building these two systems is about 4,200 billion VND.

Previously, at the end of 2023, this remarkable information was first presented by delegate Nguyen Tri Thuc, Director of Cho Ray Hospital, at the National Assembly forum: Vietnam does not have a proton radiotherapy system and with the number of new cancer cases each year, Vietnam needs about 30 proton treatment chambers.

This system, according to him, is considered an inevitable and urgent need in three contexts: the rate of new cancer cases in Vietnam is increasing, existing cancer treatment technology is outdated and degraded, and especially a large number of Vietnamese people have to go abroad for treatment.

Mr. Thuc said that currently, developed countries in the world such as the US, Japan, Germany, France, UK, Russia, China and some countries in Southeast Asia (Singapore, Thailand) have been widely applying proton radiotherapy to improve the quality of cancer treatment.

As of 2023, there are 123 proton radiotherapy centers in operation worldwide, with the US leading with 43 centers, followed by Japan with 26 centers and China with 7 centers.

The lack of this advanced treatment technique is also the reason why domestic cancer patients who need high-quality treatment have to go abroad for treatment, mainly to countries such as Singapore, Japan, Korea, and Thailand, with huge annual costs, costing billions of dollars.

Therefore, investing in building high-quality cancer centers equipped with advanced radiotherapy systems on par with the region and the world, especially proton radiotherapy, is an urgent issue.

At that time, Mr. Thuc proposed that the National Assembly and the Government pay attention to establishing two proton radiotherapy centers in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City so that cancer patients can enjoy scientific advances.

"Doctors can access this technique after six months of training abroad. This will help cancer patients feel secure in receiving treatment domestically, without having to go abroad for treatment, helping to save foreign currency costs for the country," Mr. Thuc proposed at the end of 2023.