Our Association aims to influence and intervene in situations where we observe shortcomings in the treatment of lung cancer and the adoption of new treatment possibilities. Pulmones monitors lung cancer care nationally and internationally and advocates for the timely adoption of effective treatments. A specialist report published in June 2025 identified four key areas where Finland lags behind other Nordic countries:

(1) The amount of resources in primary health care (e.g., the scarcity of CT equipment)

(2) Waiting times for access to primary health care

(3) The availability of new cancer medications

(4) Systematic monitoring of treatment outcomes for lung cancer

Source: Acta Oncologica, June 2025 https://medicaljournalssweden.se/actaoncologica/article/view/42778

Even before establishing Pulmones - the Lung Cancer Association of Finland, our group of volunteer activists made significant progress toward these goals. Among other things, we:

• Sent an inquiry to the Council for Choices in Health Care in Finland (COHERE Finland) regarding the grounds for negative recommendations for lung cancer drugs made in 2021-2022.
• Prepared, published, and distributed a patient petition for lung cancer patients to decision-makers.
• Sent a letter to the Minister of Social Affairs and Health to take a position on negative recommendations for lung cancer medications and the significance of the Health Care Act.
• Made a proposal to COHERE Finland about reprocessing the drug amivantamab as a second-line therapy and provided comments on the draft regarding amivantamab as a first-line treatment.

Equal access to adequate health services in Finland is recognized as a fundamental right under the Health Care Act. When faced with a serious illness, it is difficult to comprehend what adequate health services might mean, especially when one struggles to understand what is happening with the illness.

Finland's dual-channel drug assessment and reimbursement system can lead to inequality in access to treatment. State-funded welfare regions pay for medications administered and dispensed in hospitals. In outpatient care, a patient may receive reimbursement for medication from KELA (The Social Insurance Institution of Finland)under the Health Insurance Act. The number of treatment lines varies by cancer type. Lung cancer patients are among those who have only very few treatment lines available.

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