RA 11215 – An Act Institutionalizing A
National Integrated Cancer Program And
Appropriating Funds Therefor
Serial No. 1850
H. No. 8636
Republic of the Philippines
Congress of the Philippines
Metro Manila
Seventeenth Congress
Third Regular Session
Begun and held in Metro Manila, on Monday, the twenty-third day of July, two thousand
eighteen.
REPUBLIC ACT NO. 11215
AN ACT INSTITUTIONALIZING A NATIONAL INTEGRATED CANCER PROGRAM
AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in
Congress assembled:
ARTICLE I
INTRODUCTORY PROVISIONS
SECTION 1. Short Title. – This Act shall be known as the “National Integrated Cancer
Control Act”.
SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy. – Recognizing that cancer is one of the leading
causes of death in the Philippines, the State shall adopt an integrated and
comprehensive approach to health development which includes the strengthening of
integrative, multidisciplinary, patient and family centered cancer control policies,
programs, systems, interventions and services at all levels of the existing health care
delivery system.
Towards this end, the State shall endeavor to prevent cancer and improve cancer
survivorship by scaling up essential programs and increasing investments for robust
prevention of cancer, better screening, prompt and accurate diagnosis, timely and
optimal treatment, responsive palliative care and pain management, effective
survivorship care and late effects management and rehabilitation. It shall likewise make
cancer treatment and care more equitable and affordable for all, especially for the
underprivileged, poor and marginalized Filipinos.
SECTION 3. Definition of Terms. As used in this Act:
(a) Allied health care professionals refer to trained non-cancer health professionals such
as physicians, social workers, nurses, occupational therapists, recreational therapists,
dietitians, among others;
(b) Cancer refers to a genetic term for a large group of diseases that can affect any part
of the body. Other terms used are malignant tumors and neoplasms. One defining
feature of cancer is the rapid creation of abnormal cells that grow beyond their usual
boundaries, and which can then invade adjoining parts of the body and spread to other
organs;
(c) Cancer control refers to the strategies to reduce the incidence, morbidity and
mortality and improve the quality of life of cancer patients in a defined population,
through the systematic implementation of evidence-based interventions for prevention,
early detection, diagnosis, treatment and palliative care;
(d) Cancer diagnosis refers to the various techniques and procedures used to detect or
confirm the presence of cancer;
(e) Cancer registry refers to a database that contains information about people
diagnosed with various types of cancer. The registry shall require systematic collection,
storage, analysis, interpretation and reporting of data on subjects with cancer. There are
two (2) main types of cancer registry:
1.) Population-based cancer registry, which refers to the collection of data on all new
cases of cancer occurring in a well-defined population, including mortality and
survivorship;
2.) Hospital-based cancer registry, which refers to the recording of information on the
cancer patients diagnosed and treated in a particular hospital;