Cancer treatment policy in Denmark

During the early 1990s, it became increasingly clear to the medical community and the public health authorities in Denmark that cancer treatment there was lagging behind most other Western European countries. This chapter examines how Danish cancer policy from around 2000 onwards moved from a position as a laggard to a decent position. It is argued that during the first two decades of the new century, Denmark made remarkable advances along each of the four dimensions of the PPPE model (programmatic, process, political, and endurance) used in this volume. Over the course of 20 years, four consecutive cancer plans have vastly improved diagnostic and curative procedures and capacities with the effect that survival rates for cancer patients have increased substantially and at higher rates than in the other Nordic countries in the same period. Yet, there is still scope for improving preventive actions and regulations (in the area of smoking, alcohol consumption and dieting) and in the area of diagnostic and curative procedures and capacities. Overall, it is also a process success in the sense that the policy saw the emergence of an enduring coalition of state, regions, patient organizations and health professionals around the goal of improving cancer treatment. Recently, however, a few actors in this interest group coalition have questioned whether or not the strong focus on cancer policy may be crowding out the attention to other diseases. Finally, it is a political success as the costly cancer plans have enjoyed widespread and enduring parliamentary and popular support.