Hereditary cancer costs should be reimbursed, says Swiss Cancer League
In the event of a proven hereditary predisposition, women suffering from breast or ovarian cancer should be entitled to reimbursement of the costs of preventive operations, says the Swiss Cancer League.
This content was published on
2 minutes
Keystone-SDA
Português
pt
Custos com câncer hereditário devem ser reembolsados, defende Liga Suíça contra o Câncer
It recently submitted a request to the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) for the law to be revised accordingly.
At present, basic insurance covers the costs of surgical removal of the breast or ovary only in cases of BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations, the Swiss Cancer League said in a press release on Tuesday. However, reimbursement is not provided for other mutations that entail a comparable risk.
Breast cancer is due to a genetic predisposition in 5-10% of cases. The rate rises to 10-20% for ovarian cancer. By surgically removing the affected organ, the risk of cancer is almost completely eliminated, the umbrella organisation said.
The aim of the request submitted to the FOPH is to make preventive operations accessible to the women concerned, and to ensure that these patients receive in-depth advice beforehand.
Cancers of the prostate, colon, rectum and skin can also be hereditary in origin, but are not covered by the Swiss Cancer League’s request.
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles. You can find them here.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
External Content
Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Almost finished… We need to confirm your email address. To complete the subscription process, please click the link in the email we just sent you.
Most Read Swiss Abroad
More
November 24, 2024 votes: the results from across Switzerland
Should Switzerland take measures to support its struggling industries?
Industrial policies are back in fashion, not only in the United States but also in the EU. Should Switzerland, where various industries are struggling, draw inspiration from such policies?
Swiss federal prosecutor files charges for intent to blow up ATMs
This content was published on
The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland has filed charges against five men for planning to blow up and rob ATMs.
Swiss court rules teen can change gender entry without parents
This content was published on
The Swiss Federal Supreme Court ruled that parents don't need to provide consent for a 16-year-old to change their gender entry in the civil register.
UBS study finds billionaires’ wealth more than doubled in 10 years
This content was published on
The number of super-rich people and their wealth has risen significantly in ten year according to a study by Swiss bank UBS.
International Geneva aims to cut CO2 emissions by a third
This content was published on
Nearly 40 players from international Geneva have pledged to reduce their CO2 emissions by an average of one-third by 2030.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.