>SNIP
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>>On what do you base that ?? Cancer treatments here are done in a very timely manner and I certainly do not agree here. I would even go further. I think that our care to prevent cancer and detect cancer in a timely manner is far superiour to that one of the US. There is a lot to do over here in the prevention and detection of medical problems over here, something that to my knowledge is not the case in the US.

Some examples:
- Women above a certain age are screened periodically for breast cancer and uterus cancer (does not have anything to do with insurance).
- Simple screenings done at your GP don't cost you a penny.
- Men called for screening for prostate cancer above the age of 50?
- Health organisations / government provide free tests for early detection of kidney problems.
- Every born baby in the Netherlands is screened on an increasing number of deceases quickly after birth.
- Every child goes throug an extensive vacinating program up to age 11 or so with the emphasys until the age of 5 to avoid certain deceases.
- There is a lot of information provided by our government how to handle and detect medical emergencies (e.g. a stroke). They get broadcasted by our media on a regular basis.
- Everywhere in the country there are courses to deliver first care (reanimation, etc). In every company at least one person must be able to deliver first emergency care. At large events at least a certain number of skilled first emergency care people should be arround.
- Insurance companies, now cover the use of healthy food products (like becel), and actually are getting more proactive in the prevention of medical problem, by stimulating a healthy way of life, food and medicine.
- Dental care is included in the basic package (though there was some catch I forgot), allowing a check every six months.

All of the above has little or nothing to do with your insurance coverage (as oposed to the US). It is available for anyone. Some people do make use of it because out of religion, but the service is there. The covernment tries to educate people to prevent and recognise the most common medical problems as much as reasonable.



Walter,

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>Can you provide examples of where Netherlands leads the U.S. in the prevention and detection of cancer? I really am interested because here in the U.S. cancer screening is pretty standard now... If Netherlands has some tests which the U.S. does not, I would bring my daughter there for testing in the future...
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>Here they are now going so far as to recommend annual blood tests, ct scans, mri, and ultrasound as a wholebody holistic prevention. There are so many screening tests to do it is amazing. Then there are the recent vaccines such as the HPV vaccine for teens. I figure by the time I do all that and add in the annual pap, mammogram, et al who knows what cancer I will have developed from the tests! They also test for nutritional imbalances, allergens, amino acids, vitamins, fatty acids, trace metals, pesticides, and other pollutants. Some insurance companies cover it but most still do not. It won't be long though...