- Advanced breast cancer - treatment of sick women is very limited
- Women with advanced breast cancer feel marginalized in society. They need the support of psycho-oncologists and other sick women
Advanced breast cancer cannot be cured, but patients with breast cancer can fight to extend life and improve its quality. Unfortunately, patients with this form of breast cancer are treated as second-class patients, because they have limited access to diagnostics, therapy and modern drugs that extend the life of cancer, experts alarmed during the conference “Women with advanced breast cancer. Time is money that is not there ", which took place on May 27, 2015.
Advanced breast cancercannot be cured. The only thing that the sick can fight for is extending their life and improving its quality. Research shows that there are more and more such women. In 2012, there were about 150,000. women with breast cancer - says Elżbieta Kosik, president of the Polish Amazon Social Movement. I estimate that about 200,000 people live today. women affected by breast cancer at various stages - he adds and notes that 5, 6 thousand die every year from this cancer. women, or 13 a day. Statistics do not say how many women live with the advanced form of this cancer. It is known that life expectancy after diagnosis of advanced breast cancer is between 2 and 4 years. To extend the time of survival, the patient needs better access to in-depth diagnostics and modern therapy, which is a huge problem in Poland.
Advanced breast cancer - treatment of sick women is very limited
From 1 January 2015, the Card for Oncology Diagnostics and Treatment (DiLO) - the so-called green card. However, they can only be obtained by people who are suspected of having a malignant tumor. People already diagnosed with cancer cannot benefit from quick diagnosis and treatment. In such a situation there are, among others women with advanced breast cancer, who - as pointed out by Krzysztof Ladna, president of the Watch He alth Care Foundation (WHC) - also require specialized diagnostics and implementation of the next stage of treatment.
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Prof. dr hab. n. med., Piotr J. Wysocki, head of the Center for Innovation, Development and Clinical Research at the West Pomeranian Cancer Center, noted that since the introduction of the oncology package, a hugeemphasis was placed on the early detection of cancer, including breast cancer. "This emphasis has reduced the emphasis on treating patients who are chronic, that is, patients with advanced, incurable breast cancer," he added. Prof. Wysocki also points out that, apart from limited diagnostics, it is more and more difficult for doctors to monitor the effects of treatment. As a result, they are unable to confirm disease progression and change treatment, he says. All because after the introduction of the oncology package, the pool of resources for oncology has not changed, but has been shifted from patients with advanced breast cancer to patients with the early form of this cancer - he explains. The oncology package dramatically worsened the situation of patients with advanced breast cancer The problem is also the elimination from January 1, 2015 of the possibility of submitting an application for financing under the so-called custom chemotherapy that has been used in advanced breast cancer. However, there was no alternative treatment available. Additionally, women with advanced breast cancer have limited access to innovative drugs. Thanks to them, it is possible to treat a chronic disease longer and safer, which is e.g. breast cancer. As noted by Dr. Agnieszka Jagiełło-Gruszfeld from the Clinic of Breast Cancer and Reconstructive Surgery of the Oncology Center-Institute in Warsaw - even when the disease is already spread and metastases have appeared, we fight not only for 2-3 months of the patient's life, but for much more - for 5, 10 and sometimes even 15 years. DID YOU KNOW>>Diffuse breast cancer (with metastases) gives the worst prognosis. Symptoms of disseminated breast cancer
The report of the Alivia Youth Oncology Foundation shows that out of 30 innovative drugs, as many as 12 in Poland are not reimbursed by the National He alth Fund and doctors cannot treat patients with them. Another 16 formulations are available, but with limitations, and only 2 medications can be prescribed by doctors without problems. In addition, the use of 18 available drugs does not exceed a quarter of the European average, says Agata Polińska, vice president of the Alivia Foundation. Source: biznes.newseria.pl
Women with advanced breast cancer feel marginalized in society. They need the support of psycho-oncologists and other sick women