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 raw milk sales be banned or should consumers decide?
Swiss food regulations do not allow raw milk to be sold for direct consumption. However, a loophole allows 400 raw milk vending machines to do just that.
This content was published on
Swiss consumers intend to spend an average of CHF282 on Christmas gifts this year. This is exactly the same as last year.
Argentina’s Milei to visit Switzerland in January 2025
This content was published on
Argentina's libertarian President Javier Milei plans to visit Switzerland on January 24, 2025 to attend an event organised by the Liberal Institute in Zurich.
This content was published on
OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, says it intends to open an office in Zurich. The move is part of its European expansion plan, after setting up offices in London, Paris, Brussels and Dublin.
This content was published on
The Swiss economy is growing slightly faster than expected, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
This content was published on
The House of Representatives on Wednesday cut the foreign aid budget by CHF250 million ($282 million) in favour of the army.
Parliament confirms 13th pension payment to be paid once a year in December
This content was published on
The 13th old-age pension payment will be paid out as planned from December 2026, the Swiss Senate confirmed on Wednesday.
This content was published on
Around 1,000 Swiss farmers took part in a protest action near Bern on Tuesday, calling for less administrative work, more planning security and fairer prices.
UN appeals for more funds to assist 305 million people in need
This content was published on
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) estimates that around 305 million people will need aid in 2025.
Swiss authorities release right-to-die activist in Sarco ‘suicide capsule’ case
This content was published on
A right-to-die activist has been released from police custody over the reported first use of the Sarco “suicide capsule”, after prosecutors ruled out the possibility of an intentional homicide.
Switzerland demands immediate halt to hostilities in Syria
This content was published on
The Swiss foreign ministry has called for an immediate end to hostilities in Syria. International humanitarian law must be respected, it declared via the social media platform X on Tuesday.
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.