Patients suffering from cancer in the urinary bladder will now be able to benefit from new and free medicine as from this Monday. Minister for Health Chris Fearne announced that the new treatment is more efficient and less invasive.

Addressing a press conference at Mater Dei, the Minister said that more than 300 patients a year are expected to benefit from this measure. It will also reduce the risk of cancer re-emergence by more than one third.

He explained that usually, this kind of cancer is caught in its early stages and most of the time, it is treatable. However, cancer in the bladder is also one of which very frequently returns.

The announcement today comes at a time when the government is soon launching the National Cancer Plan. In fact, the Minister said that the consultation for the national strategy on cancer ended last month and the plan will officially be launched on 1 September.

"The idea is to have all cancer medicines listed on the government formulary in three years. This year alone, the government will introduce eight new medicines in the government registry."

The new treatment introduced today will cost some €250,000 each year. Later on, the government intends to introduce more medicines for breast, ovarian and uterus cancer. He explained that the treatment is less invasive and takes 20 minutes instead of an hour. The procedure can be done without anaesthetic.