Every year, 38,000 people in the Netherlands are told that they have metastatic cancer. In one in five cancer patients, the cancer has already spread at the time of diagnosis. That’s 21,000 patients per year. Half of them live for a maximum of six months.
The outlook does differ per type of cancer. Most have lung cancer. For them, the chances of survival have barely increased in the past ten years. With metastatic esophageal cancer and bladder cancer, survival has not improved at all, according to the IKNL in the report Metastatic cancer in picture. There is more perspective for people with metastatic prostate cancer, breast cancer or melanoma. For example, patients with prostate or breast cancer can sometimes experience a good quality of life for many years.
Because it is not certain in advance whether a treatment will work, according to the IKNL it is important that the wishes regarding the care are discussed. “By asking what the patient finds important, the healthcare provider can determine together with the patient how long he / she wants to be treated and at what price. For patients with metastatic cancer, life and death can be close to each other”, according to the IKNL. “If doctors and nurses think ahead together with the patient, it is more likely to be able to take care of the patient at home in the final phase of life and to ensure that the patient experiences fewer complaints such as chest tightness and pain.”
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