Government: Cancer Can be Completely Cured Through Early-Detection

RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta – The government, through the Ministry of Health, is committed to strengthening cancer treatment efforts in the country, with a primary focus on early detection. This strategy is fully supported by the provision of complete healthcare facilities and tools across all community health centers and regional hospitals to increase patients' life expectancy.

Health Minister, Budi Gunadi Sadikin, emphasized that cancer is no longer a frightening disease because it can be cured through technological advancements. In his speech at the World Cancer Day 2026 event in Jakarta on Wednesday, 4 February 2026, Budi emphasized that the key to a patient's recovery rate lies in the speed of early detection.

“New technology is now available to cure cancer. The government will equip all its tools to ensure this early detection happens. Cancer needs to be detected early. If detected early, it's curable,"  Budi Sadikin conveyed.

The Minister of Health presented the crucial fact that every two minutes, one Indonesian dies from cancer. This is exacerbated by the public's fear of screening due to concerns about a disease diagnosis.

In fact, according to him, breast cancer, which is the number one killer of women in Indonesia, has a high cure rate if detected early.As a concrete step, the government is offering a gift of a free health check program for 280 million Indonesians each year, including breast cancer screening.

The Ministry of Health has also distributed 10,000 ultrasound devices to all community health centers in Indonesia and trained general practitioners to perform accurate early detection.

In addition to strengthening breast cancer tools, the Ministry of Health is also actively implementing a cervical cancer prevention program thru national HPV vaccination. This program has reached 1.9 million people out of a target of 2.1 million women aged 11.

"This year we will start with a catch-up program for 15-year-old adolescents. And in 2027, we will begin vaccinating 11-year-old boys to break the chain of transmission," Budi said.

To support the treatment phase, the Minister of Health ensured the readiness of advanced medical infrastructure. The government has prepared chemotherapy facilities, oncology capabilities, and immunohistochemistry services in 514 district/city hospitals, as well as the distribution of radiotherapy services across various regions of Indonesia.

The Minister of Health urged all members of the public, especially women, not to hesitate to visit healthcare facilities. With a screening target of 40 million women in the next five years, it is hoped that the number of cancer deaths in Indonesia can be significantly reduced thru synergy between public awareness and the completeness of state facilities.