Doctor Cornelia Nițipir talks to SmartJob about how the lifestyle we have can lead us to cancer and how, by choosing to live healthy, we can fight the disease, and even prevent it: “It is important that the diagnosis is not seen as a sentence.”
Cornelia Nițipir is the head of the Oncology Clinic of the Elias University Emergency Hospital in Bucharest, primary oncologist and university lecturer. He says that, in the world, one death out of 6 is caused by cancer, and in Romania the most common cancers are lung, prostate, breast and colorectal cancers.
Cancer is that massive disruption in the genome of a cell, the biggest challenge of the immune system being that it has to fight a modified own cell, the doctor explains.
“Colorectal cancer, cervical cancer, breast cancer can be screened, because before they appear in a form that is practically cancer, they are first preceded by precancerous lesions, then a series of changes appear. That’s why screening is important,” she says.
“We are no longer surprised by colorectal cancers in people over 40 years old”
When she was a child, Dr. Nițipir says that she did not hear of anyone around her having cancer, or that it was something extremely rare: “Now, almost everyone I know has someone with cancer in the family, including me.”
What exactly causes cancer? There are many factors, the doctor claims, they represent only 10% from a genetic point of view, the remaining 90% being all that environmental factors mean, our way of life.
Colorectal cancers were only seen in older people 20 years ago: “I know I saw the first case when I was a resident and it was someone who was over 70, and now we’re not at all surprised to see colorectal cancers at 40 year old.”
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A stressed body has lower immunity, and lifestyle matters a lot: “Smoking, drinking alcohol, lack of exercise, obesity all cause inflammation. Exercise lowers inflammation and boosts immunity as well. And that’s why it’s so important, and sarcopenia, which is the loss of muscle mass, is a risk factor for cancer.”
Could a lifestyle change prevent cancer? “Basically yes, and there are many cancer survivors who say: I changed my lifestyle, I sleep more. During sleep, we synthesize some NK, Natural Killer cells, which are our innate immunity against cancer.”
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“Attitude Can Boost Immunity”
A cancer diagnosis is likened to the biggest drama in a person’s life, it is perceived as a sentence, as if a child or someone very dear to the patients dies, says Cornelia Nițipir, and the first year is the hardest.
What those diagnosed need to know, she explains, is that the latest medical discoveries regarding oncological treatment have made many cancers curable and many patients entering the category of long survivals.
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SmartJob | Cornelia Nițipir, oncologist: I have patients who tell me that they saved their cancer, because they started taking care of them
He admits, however, how important the patient’s attitude towards the disease is, because the attitude can make the difference between those who can fight and those who give up: “The attitude a patient has and the way he learns to live with this disease it also increases the immune system’s ability to fight this disease, because it is clear that our thoughts create these attitudes. It is important that the diagnosis is not seen as a sentence.”
All the data says that the patient’s immune system is much better when he is in a good mental state and is cooperative, the doctor explains, he notices better what the adverse reactions are, and doctors can have a series of feedbacks that help them to continue the treatment.
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“There is clear data that there is this mind-body connection. Chronic stress, meaning long-term stress, lowers immunity, causes cells to not repair themselves well, and inflammation occurs. Those who practice a series of meditation and relaxation techniques have better immunity,” the doctor claims.
Many patients change radically and admit that when they were diagnosed, they no longer took care of themselves and were very sad: “I even have patients who said that cancer saved them.”
With all the pressure and hardships of this job, would he choose it one more time? “Yes, absolutely. I love all my patients. I am very happy that I have many doctors who trained at our clinic. It’s very important to have a team in this job, I always encourage them not to stay alone in one place, to form a team, to collaborate”, says Cornelia Nițipir.
2023-11-10 16:02:52
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