By Bae Ji-sook
Staff Reporter
The National Health Insurance Corporation (NHIC) said Thursday that the number of patients being treated for cancer has almost doubled over the past six years.
In 2006, 425,281 people had their cancer treatment covered by their health insurance, a 94 percent rise from 218,735 in 2000.
Prostate, breast and intestinal cancers posted the highest increases at 26.1 percent, 18.1 percent and 16.1 percent, respectively.
Stomach cancer took the biggest portion at 19.1 percent of total cancer patients, followed by breast (10.8 percent), liver (9.3 percent), lung (8.1 percent) and cervical cancers (3.1 percent).
People in their 60s were diagnosed with the disease the most at 50.1 percent of the total, while those in their 40s-50s accounted for 40.4 percent.
Teenagers were only 1.1 percent of all patients, but 20 percent of leukemia and 19 percent of bone cancer sufferers.
Men exceeded women at 216,888 to 208,393.
Leukemia was the most expensive cancer to treat at 44 million won per patient. Multiple myeloma, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and bone cancers followed with costs reaching 20 million won, 19 million won and 18.6 million won, respectively.
About 89 percent of the medical costs for each patient was covered by health insurance. Last year, the NHIC spent 1.8 trillion won treating the disease, a 34.7 percent rise from 1.3 trillion won in 2005, and 8.5 percent of total illness coverage.
The corporation said that the average cost per person for medical care between 2005 and 2006 was 10 million won, and 86.2 percent of this was covered by insurance. At present, 47.4 million people subscribe to national health insurance.