Preventive tests still represent the biggest bet against the disease
Medical bodies have banded together for a national screening policy for lung cancer, the third most common type among men and fourth most common among women in Brazil. The action is justified by robust and concerning data. OR National Cancer Institute (INCA) underlines that in 2023 there will be approximately 32.5 thousand cases of lung cancer diagnosed in the country. And estimates indicate that 70% of diagnoses occur in an advanced stage of the disease.
«Patients are increasingly turning to the healthcare system with an advanced stage of the disease. For men, in particular (because they consult less), it is necessary that the cardiologist or general practitioner also adopt this approach. The tracing takes place, the door is basic health care”, observes Marlene Oliveira, president of the Instituto Lado a Lado pela Vida during the Health and Wellness Summit 2023 From Estadao.
Late diagnosis reduces the quality and life expectancy of many patients, as well as burdening public and integrative healthcare systems. “It is much cheaper to treat a patient with an initial disease, both in terms of direct cost, the treatment, and indirect cost, as he goes back to work, to produce”, explains the oncologist Clarissa Baldotto, president of the Brazilian Association Thoracic Oncology Group (GBOT). According to the doctor, a tumor found in the first stage can have a 90% chance of healing.
The suggested methodology for this screening is annual tomographic examination with low radiation dose for high-risk subjects. In this case, people between 50 and 80 years old, current smokers, former smokers for less than 15 years and also those with the so-called smoking load (the number of cigarettes consumed per day divided by 20 and multiplied by number of years of smoking, with a result equal to or greater than 20).
“With screening we will be able to reduce mortality by 20% to 25%”, estimates Gustavo Faibischew Prado, coordinator of the Scientific Committee on Cancer of the Brazilian Society of Pneumology and Physiology. One of the strengths of the measure is that it reaches people who do not have symptoms, since the initial phase of the disease is usually silent.
Inhibiting the onset of smoking is a fundamental joint action. After all, 80% of diagnoses in the country are smoking-related. Despite the reduction in consumption in recent decades, there is a new villain, the electronic cigarette, used with the mistaken idea that it is less harmful – but it is already known that it can cause, for example, mouth cancer.
“The success that Brazil has had, from the end of the 1980s to today, in reducing the prevalence of smoking by 75%, occurred without electronic cigarette“, says Prado, emphasizing that this device is not a harm reducer.
Source: Terra
Ben Stock is a lifestyle journalist and author at Gossipify. He writes about topics such as health, wellness, travel, food and home decor. He provides practical advice and inspiration to improve well-being, keeps readers up to date with latest lifestyle news and trends, known for his engaging writing style, in-depth analysis and unique perspectives.
