On October 16, the envelopes of the national public tender 65 were opened, which contains the drug Fulvestrant, necessary to treat metastatic breast cancer, however, today it is still missing. This is what Juana Moreno, secretary of the Association of cancer patients and relatives (Apacfa) denounces.
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January 26, 2021 – 4:29 PM
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According to Juana Moreno, “a dozen patients have a court sentence and another dozen did not start the process because there was a commitment that the Fulvestrant would be delivered by the end of December, but to date we are still waiting.”
The secretary of the Association wondered “How much longer will we have to wait? How many more companions must die before? How many more families must see the lives of their loved ones die, while we wait for bureaucratic processes to prevail over the right to life? Gentlemen could take concrete actions that can provide solutions. Cancer does not wait, “he said in a statement on networks.
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The Apacfa representative told ABC Color that “yesterday they told us first thing in the morning that it was not encrypted – the drug – when I called the directors they said that the encryption came out. It is the authorization given by the National Directorate of Public Procurement authorizing the purchase to the ministry. That happened yesterday, the management issued the code and from there the different departments issued the purchase orders. The medicine will be delivered today, Tuesday, before noon and another group in the afternoon. I am waiting for the confirmation of the people of the National Cancer Institute (Incan) ”, he said.
Moreno added that “the different directors of logistics and the cabinet informed me, the suppliers confirmed that they did. If the Incan withdraws from the park on Thursday, the Fulvestrant will be delivered to patients ”.
This medicine is used in the treatment of metastatic breast cancer. Moreno recalled that “this whole process began in 2020; seven new drugs were introduced to the basic list, which the patient receives without paying in the Incan, the treatment is free ”.
Patients who need this drug
Moreno counted 14 people who had resorted to amparo, and in another list there were more women. “We had a commitment from the ministry for December, but there were several addenda that further extended the bureaucracy.”
“We don’t have time”
Moreno opined that “the 2051 law on public procurement should undergo a reform in some articles because time is our problem. On December 28, fiscal year 2020 ended, we had to wait for a 2021 budget certification so that this drug can be purchased. This whole process is long and cumbersome and the cancer patient does not have that time ”, he lamented. “As soon as Fulvestrant arrives I will put on the networks and communicate, I do not want to give false expectations to patients from Hospital San Pablo, Itauguá, Lazos del Sur de Encarnación and the Oncológico de Ciudad del Este who are waiting. All of them withdraw the medicine from the Incan ”, he concluded.
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