The Federation of Romania's Cancer Patients Associations (FABC) has sent an open letter to acting Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan and president of the National Health Insurance Office (CNAS) Horatiu Moldovan, warning that the absence or repeated supply disruptions of oncology medicines represent a direct risk to patients' lives.

FABC says three oncology medicines are currently missing, while eight others face repeated and long-lasting supply discontinuities.

'In just 24 hours, based on information from our member associations, we identified three missing medicines and eight with repeated, long-term disruptions - situations that delay treatments and can endanger the health and lives of cancer patients. The official discontinuity list released by the Romania's National Agency for Medicines and Medical Devices confirms supply issues for several active substances used in oncology and hemato-oncology. This is the reality in hospitals and in patients' lives,' the federation wrote.

According to FABC, cancer patients have lived for years with uncertainty regarding access to investigations, treatments and medicines. For a cancer patient, a supply gap of a few weeks is not a simple logistical issue but delayed treatment, disease progression, lost therapeutic chances and, in some cases, lost lives.

Statements claiming that medicines are not missing 'do not reassure us,' the federation says. 'On the contrary, they worry us deeply, because the reality reported by patients and associations in the field is different. We believe the information reaching you about the health system is, at least sometimes, incomplete. We therefore invite you to take information from the grassroots - from patients, from the doctors treating them, and from organisations receiving daily alerts from hospitals.'

FABC stresses that new therapies can make the difference between progression and disease control, between a life marked by suffering and one with better quality, and in some cases between life and death.

The federation calls for the transparent publication of stock levels and discontinuities for essential oncology medicines; immediate identification of supply solutions for missing medicines or those at risk of interruption; clarification of the status of approved but not yet accessible therapies; and the creation of a permanent dialogue mechanism with patient organisations so authorities can learn about problems in real time.

'Mr Prime Minister, we ask you to treat this appeal with the urgency required by the situation of Romania's oncology patients. Before any statement that 'medicines are not missing', please verify the real situation in hospitals and in the pharmacies where patients search for their treatments. We make a desperate but responsible appeal: do not allow medicine shortages, underfunding or administrative delays to decide who receives timely treatment and who does not. Do not place, through inaction, your signature on our death certificates,' FABC concluded. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Roberto Stan; EN - writing by: Simona Klodnischi)