From a fatal disease, cancer has turned into a chronic disease. People with diagnosed cancer live longer and longer - several or even several dozen years. Is it just a lucky coincidence or are we actually managing to overcome this disease?
Cancer patients live longer
In the last 20 years, the lives of people diagnosed with cancer have increased significantly. About 70% of people live at least 5 years after the diagnosis of the disease. people. However, the survival time after cancer diagnosis is very much dependent on the type of cancer. The most promising cancers in men are testicular and thyroid cancers, and in women - endometrial and melanomas.
The worst prognosis in men is lung, esophagus and stomach cancer, in women - lung cancer. 37% of Poles live with cancer in Poland for over 5 years. men and 53 percent. women.
We look better in this respect also compared to other European countries. Overall, 5-year survival in Europe is overall (men and women) 52%. - in Poland, 45.5 percent. The most noticeable improvement in 5-year survival concerns prostate and bladder cancer (men) and cancer of the kidney, bladder and melanomas (women). The embarrassing statistic is still too many cases of cervical cancer.
What cancers do Poles suffer from most often?
The latest epidemiological data on malignant neoplasms show that nearly 360,000 people live in Poland. people with cancer diagnosed within the last five years.
In 2010, over 70 thousand people were registered with the National Cancer Registry (NCR). first-time cases of malignant neoplasms in men and nearly 71 thousand in women. In the same year, about 52,000 died of malignant tumors. men and about 41 thousand. women.
Of the 100 types of cancer diagnosed each year, only a few constitute as much as 60 percent. all illnesses. Among men, lung cancer (21%) and prostate cancer (13%) are dominant. large intestine (11%), bladder (7%) and stomach (5%); the remaining 41% are other neoplasms.
In women, the biggest problem is still breast cancer (23%), colorectal cancer (10%), lung cancer (9%), endometrial cancer (7%), ovarian cancer (5%) .) and cervical canceruterus (4%); the remaining neoplasms account for 42 percent. illnesses. According to experts from NCR, this tendency will continue in the coming years.
This will be useful to you16% of cancer patients experience episodes of major depression
An extremely important problem is the mental state of patients. At the congress of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), held in June 2013 in Atlanta, the results of a study on unemployment among men after testicular amputation were presented. It turned out that most of them do not work and spend their time in front of the TV. They are usually obese and have high blood pressure.
The GLOBOCAN study shows that 16% experience episodes of significant depression, and 10% experience anxiety and anxiety. people in the early stages of cancer treatment. The mental state of people undergoing effective treatment is unknown.
Unfortunately, only a small fraction of patients want to seek the help of psycho-oncologists, although they are informed that stress does not promote recovery. Another challenge for oncologists are seniors with many chronic diseases. Until recently, they had been reluctant to undergo chemotherapy because it was believed that non-cancerous diseases would complicate cancer treatment. Today, using new targeted therapies, this group of patients can also be effectively treated.
The earlier the cancer is detected, the greater the chance of its cure
Modern medicine has many diagnostic methods that allow to accurately determine the characteristics of a neoplasm. Thanks to them, the disease can be detected at various stages of its development. It is possible to detect changes in cell metabolism by determining the so-called markers. Pathomorphological macroscopic and microscopic evaluation allows to learn about the biological properties of the neoplasm, to check whether it is a malignant lesion or not.
You can also find out what tissue the tumor is made of and what is its stage of advancement. Cytological and histopathological tests, excellent imaging diagnostics, electron microscopy affect not only the possibility of developing more and more effective therapies, but also the life expectancy of patients.
No diagnostic methods will be useful if patients do not benefit from screening tests (e.g. mammography, cytology, colonoscopy) if they ignore doctors' warnings about the risk of smoking-related cancers or obesity. Early detection of cancer is of great importance for the patient's future.
Cancer becomes a chronic disease thanks to modern drugs
The advancement of knowledge, the development of new drugs, but also a better understanding of the cancers themselves allows us to hope that cancer will happenchronic disease. It is worth knowing that some cancers (thyroid cancer, breast cancer) have always been associated with long-term survival.
Unfortunately, there were and still are those that do not give the patient such a chance (pancreatic cancer). But here too, something is changing, as the participants of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting, which took place in Atlanta in June of this year, were informed. They were then presented with the results of treating kidney cancer with a new drug (Temsirolimus), which, compared to standard therapy, extends the patient's life by over 3 months. It does not seem to be much. However, other drugs (Sunitinib) are being tested for patients in whom none of the known therapies was effective.
There are also new drugs (Lapatinib) available for patients with breast cancer who have metastasized. The results of the treatment with its use were considered to be amazing.
Complications after cancer treatment
Regular use of anti-cancer drugs is associated with the emergence of new diseases that would not be revealed if it were not for the treatment of the cancer itself. These are serious gastric ailments, damage to the circulatory, respiratory, urinary and endocrine systems. Therefore, modern treatment of neoplastic diseases requires physicians to have much broader knowledge of internists than before.
Regularly visit the cancer clinic after your cancer is cured
Cancer survivors will always be patients at increased risk of developing cancer again. Therefore, they must regularly monitor their he alth.
Should it always be done in an oncology clinic? Experts say that, from the substantive point of view, there is no such necessity. But reality dictates its own conditions. POZ doctors are reluctant to take care of such patients, because they are not always prepared for it.
Besides, they are often unable to order the checkups needed by the patient. For example, patients with early breast cancer diagnosed after the end of treatment are to have a mammogram once a year, and since the GP does not have the right to issue such a referral, they must go to the oncologist. They also cannot take advantage of the screening tests because they have been diagnosed with cancer.
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