REPORT: Terrible diagnosis "cancer" is confirmed for 160,000 Ukrainians every year. However, the illness can be cured, says President of the Foundation for Development of Ukraine Rinat Akhmetov. The organization launched a new national project on fighting cancer and will provide $40m.

Rinat Akhmetov, President of the Foundation for Development of Ukraine: When I heard that someone had cancer, I thought the situation was hopeless  But then I learnt that the first cancer phase can be cured in 100%, 90-100%, the second – in some 70-80%, and the third – in 30-35%. Our goal is to invest money into early diagnostics. Thus we can actually save many lives.

REPORT: $40m is huge money. The government provides six times less for acquisition of new facilities. The equipment to be bought for the funds provided by Akhmetov's Foundation is unmatched in Ukraine. 

Tatyana BAKHTEYEVA, Chairman of Health Care Committee of Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine: This will be two PET facilities. One position emission tomography scanner will be installed in the National Kiev Institute of Cancer and open for free for patients from all regions of our country. The second PET will be installed in Donbass to treat patients coming from south and east of Ukraine. Also, 10m will be allocated on the Western Ukraine to buy a magnetic resonance scanner, a computer tomography scanner, and a linear accelerator that the Western Ukraine doesn't have.

REPORT: Cancer center will start using the new equipment in a year. This period of time is needed to buy, assemble, and set up new facilities.

Source: Ukraine. TV channels: Channel 24
Broadcast on 11 July, 2008 19:10:11-19:11:49