A Chinese political advisor has suggested that the state provide free treatment for needy citizens who suffer from cancer, particularly those living in impoverished rural areas.

"For some Chinese farmers, contracting cancer is almost equal to receiving a death sentence. The government is responsible for changing this situation," said Li Guoan, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), China's top advisory body.

"Under the current medicare system of our country, it is not rare for a person who catches a major disease like cancer to spend his or her lifetime savings on treatment. Many are forced to choose giving up treatment, just waiting for death," said Li, one of the representatives of the Chinese People's Liberation Army in the advisory body.

Li told Xinhua on Friday that he had submitted a proposal to the fourth annual full session of the CPPCC National Committee, slated to open here on Friday afternoon, regarding state-funded assistance to the needy cancer patients across the country.

Li said that latest statistics show China now has some 1.8 million cancer patients. "Even if 1 million of them need assistance and the state pays 10,000 yuan (1,200 U.S. dollars) each for their annual treatment fees, the total budget will be around 10 billion yuan, which should be an affordable figure to the soaring state revenue," he noted.

The advisor also suggested special tumor hospitals with state funding be set up at county or city level to guarantee free cancer treatment for rural patients from impoverished regions and urban patients subsisting on minimum living allowances.

Li's proposal, once accepted at the 10-day session, will be passed on to relevant government departments for reference.

At present, the Chinese government offers free medical treatment to urban and rural poor suffering from HIV/AIDS, in a bid to curb the spread of this deadly epidemic.

Source: Xinhua