WE live in a world where bad news sells. In all media platforms, we need to exert some effort to find the good things going on around the world. Take, for example, this news item: “FDA approves new drug for blood cancer.” The news story, buried beneath “bigger” news items, said “the United States Food and Drug Administration has approved a new drug, Xospata, for the treatment of adult patients who have acute myeloid leukemia [AML].”
AML is a rapidly progressing cancer that crowds out normal cells in the bone marrow and bloodstream, resulting in low numbers of normal blood cells and a continuous need for transfusions. The new drug gives hope to people with leukemia, as “21 percent of patients achieved complete remission with partial hematologic recovery with treatment. Of the 106 patients who required red blood cell or platelet transfusions at the start of treatment with Xospata, 31 percent became transfusion-free for at least 56 days,” according to the FDA.
Among local news, this headline was hardly noticed by major news outlets: “Cancer among adults preventable, expert says.” Written by Ma. Teresa Montemayor of the Philippine News Agency, the news story quoted Dr. Dennis Sacdalan, head of the Cancer Center of Manila Medical Center, saying cancer can be prevented through proper screenings and healthy lifestyle.
This is important news for about 60 million adult Filipinos, considering the fact that seven adult citizens die of cancer every hour, according to the Department of Health.
Sacdalan said the creation of better cancer-prevention programs could decrease the emergence of new cancer cases. “For example, tobacco control for lung cancer, and promotion of vaccination for Hepatitis B and HPV [human papillomavirus]. Cervical cancer and liver cancer are two cancers that are mainly associated with viral infections. If you do effective vaccination programs, you can dramatically decrease the number of patients with cervical cancer,” he said.
There are also secondary preventions “to keep cancer from being the third-leading cause of death in adults.” Sacdalan said these include screenings, like colonoscopy for colon cancer, pap smear for cervical cancer and mammography for breast cancer. He explained: “If you could create programs that will ensure the target population, meaning those who are in their 40s and 50s, they could receive these services and you’ll be able to see a drop in cancer deaths in the future.”
The cancer expert stressed the importance of having a healthy lifestyle for adults. “We need to promote better nutrition and ensure that the agriculture sector could provide healthy foods for the general population, promote physical activity, because it is greatly associated with the drop in cancer cases.”
Although cancer is a deadly disease, it pays to remember that it does not develop overnight. Adult Filipinos can do something to reduce their cancer risk. For example, they can follow these cancer-prevention tips issued last week by the US-based Mayo Clinic:
- Don’t use tobacco. Smoking has been linked to various types of cancer—including cancer of the lung, mouth, throat, larynx, pancreas, bladder, cervix and kidney.
- Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables.
- Maintain a healthy weight and be physically active. Maintaining a healthy weight might lower the risk of various types of cancer, including cancer of the breast, prostate, lung, colon and kidney.
- Get regular medical care. Regular self-exams and screenings for various types of cancers—such as cancer of the skin, colon, cervix and breast—can increase your chances of discovering cancer early, when treatment is most likely to be successful.