The consultation document on the National Cancer Plan for the next five years was launched this afternoon by Health Minister Chris Fearne, outlining measures being taken to better tackle cancer.

Addressing a press conference at the Sir Anthony Mamo Oncology Centre, Mr Fearne said the plan will be open for public consultation for the next two months, after which it will be officially launched.

While the government will be stepping up care options for cancer patients including the introduction of a number of drugs given to patients for free, the plan also sought to improve prevention measures in an attempt to cut the prevalence of the illness, the minister said.

"The most effective way to treat cancer is to prevent it. In the coming years, be it with cancer, obesity or diabetes, the focus will be on prevention. At the moment we spend 95 per cent of all health costs on care and we need to start spending much more on prevention," Mr Fearne said.

Some 1,800 patients are diagnosed with cancer every year in Malta, with the figure expected to shoot to over 2,100 diagnoses by 2020.