Horia Vulpe: Final report on our Cancer Care Program for Ukrainian refugees in Moldova and Romania

Horia Vulpe, Radiation Oncologist at Kaiser Permanente, made the following post on LinkedIn:

“Final report on our Cancer Care Program for Ukrainian refugees in Moldova and Romania is published today in The Lancet Oncology. Grateful for our amazing team, our partners IOM – UN Migration, and the many oncologists who helped our cancer patients along the way.

The war in Ukraine severely disrupted cancer services. While the EU enacted a Temporary Protection Directive, refugees in the Republic of Moldova had no access to free cancer treatments and those in Romania faced multiple barriers in a system already under strain.

Our Response: We rapidly mobilized to provide financial support for cancer treatments in Moldova, comprehensive assistance in Romania, and medical evacuations from Ukraine.
Over 162 Ukrainian cancer patients helped.

Challenges: Early funding from Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) and private donations kickstarted our program. However, grants for humanitarian work are almost non-existent in our oncology community. Funding for research and education cannot be used to help refugees in a time of war. We can do better!

Our program shows how collaboration and teamwork in oncology can save lives by reducing delays, overcoming barriers, and financing care. We must strengthen our collective ability to help cancer pts fleeing future conflicts, climate change, and other humanitarian crises.”

Source: Horia Vulpe/LinkedIn