10 March 2014 - People in Ontario and Atlantic Canada face financial hardship that other Canadians don't when it comes to accessing cancer treatments taken orally, a coalition of more than 30 cancer organizations says.

The group CanCertainty, led by Kidney Cancer Canada, launched a campaign Monday calling for \"equal and fair\" cancer treatment for all Canadians, no matter what type of medication they're on.

Under the Canada Health Act, intravenous cancer treatments are universally covered because they are administered in a hospital or medical setting. But that's not always the case when medications are taken orally.

CanCertainty released a white paper by the Cameron Institute, a public policy think-tank, detailing a patchwork of coverage and what it calls discriminatory practices across the country. The paper argues universal coverage makes financial sense to hospital budgets as well as patients, who can end up in debt after a cancer diagnosis.

For more details, go to: http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/oral-cancer-drugs-group-pushes-for-universal-coverage-1.2564023