According to estimates from the Global Cancer Observatory (Globocan) of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), 130,878 new cases of cancer were diagnosed in Argentina in 2020, where breast cancer had the greatest magnitude with 22,024 cases. In Jujuy, only in the Soria hospital are records of 300 to 400 cases per year maintained, and although there was a false decrease in 2020, in 2021 they exceeded the records of 2019.
“In Jujuy, the records of the patients who are seen at the Onco Hematology Service of the “Pablo Soria” hospital, approximately have between 300 and 400 new cases per year,” said the medical oncologist of that service at the Jujuy hospital. Ana Carolina Ituarte.
He stated that in the period of isolation of the pandemic there was a “false decrease in the number of cases” as a result of the lack of access to the health system for patients, due to the isolation measures that they had to comply with. For this reason, he clarified that, once the restrictions were lifted and patients were allowed to circulate, we returned to the incidence we had in previous years.
“We have not seen any variation, the casuistry is at the same level. In women, breast cancer comes first, cervical cancer second, gallbladder cancer; and in men, prostate cancer, lung cancer second. and the third digestive cancer among those is colon cancer,” said the oncologist.
He reiterated that in a pandemic, at the time of mandatory isolation there was a decrease in consultations and after the opening of activities a very large increase, higher than normal because people returned to the health system. So far this year, the normalization of the number of consultations they had in 2019, before the pandemic, is seen. “We have between 400 and 500 internships in the service per month,” Ituarte said.
ANA CAROLINA ITUARTE, ONCOLOGIST
He specified that this service provides free assistance to patients with cancer, whether they have blood cancer, leukemia, lymphoma or myeloma; such as solid organ cancer, lung or breast for example. In addition, he is given assistance in palliative care for symptoms associated with cancer, and in terms of treatment, he is given access to radiotherapy, which although there is not in the hospital, they have contact with the only private center in the province that provides that treatment. of radiation. “98% of the population with cancer can be treated perfectly within the province, and there is a small percentage that has to be referred to access a treatment that is not available in the province, but it is the minority,” he said.
Regarding the early diagnosis of cancer, which involves screening studies, which are those that are carried out in the healthy population, she referred to mammography and breast ultrasound studies in women over 50 years of age, the annual Pap smear in the woman from the beginning of sexual relations or from the age of 22. It also includes the study of fecal occult blood in men and women over 50 years of age, and prostate control in men over 50 years of age.
He considered that both the control that is carried out to obtain the health card or the cancer checkbook provided by some social works, including the ISJ, promote the screening study of the healthy population, encouraging the patient to approach the system even if it is for a reason. labor.
He argued that cancer worldwide is on the rise, and that the World Health Organization (WHO) published years ago that from 2050 it is expected that one in two people will have cancer, and that of the population with cancer, 50 % would have a chance to heal.
That is why he emphasized the awareness of screening studies and cancer prevention measures, in addition to detecting it in time.
In this sense, they urge to reduce the consumption of meats, increase the consumption of fruits and vegetables, increase regular physical activity at least three times of 30 minutes per week; maintain a healthy weight, avoid obesity, take care of sun exposure in relation to skin tumors; and reduce the consumption of alcoholic beverages in excessive amounts.
For fairer care
The medical oncologist at the Soria hospital recalled that this year’s motto of the International Union Against Cancer (IUCC) and several oncology associations aim to “promote fairer care for cancer patients.” This means “collaborating each one from their place so that all patients have equitable access to health, to all treatments”.
The campaign framed in the World Cancer Day, invites you to join with the hashtag #PorUnosCuidadosMásJustos. The initiative promotes the challenge that “to create a future without cancer, the time to act is now” and has the support of numerous entities that joined the call. This means that not because a person has a certain social coverage or does not have it, they cannot access the treatments that correspond to them, which is a concern of oncologists, associations and NGOs that support patients, who hope that everyone can access the necessary care in relation to the diagnosis.
“This is a reality in our country, as in other countries of the world, including in developed countries, which is why there is concern for equity in health in relation to people with cancer,” said the oncologist. On the other hand, in the opinion of specialists, the gap between public and private care in our environment often conditions or delays access to modern therapies, which have represented significant advances in the treatment of the pathology, with fewer adverse effects, better long-term results and improvement in the quality of life of patients.
MOTTO | FOR FAIRER CARE FOR BETTER ACCESS TO TREATMENT.
Although they are preventable through medical controls, or at least detectable in early stages -when their prognosis is more favorable-, breast cancer, with around 22,000 new cases per year, according to the National Cancer Institute; colon cancer, with more than 15,800, and lung cancer, with 12,110, lead the ranking of the most frequent types of cancer in the country.
The lack of knowledge about the tools and behaviors that help in the prevention and early detection of cancer also influences. Within the framework of World Cancer Day, which was commemorated on February 4, they underline the need to improve these aspects of their approach. In Argentina, it is observed that breast cancer, with 22,024 cases, was the largest in 2020, representing the first in women, with 16.8% of all new cases.
In second place is colorectal cancer, with 15,895 new cases, representing 12.1% of the total, and in third place, lung cancer, with 12,110 new cases, accounting for 9.3% of all tumors. Regarding mortality, the latest official figures show that in 2019 there were 5,992 deaths from breast cancer, 7,539 from colon cancer and 9,300 deaths from lung, trachea and bronchial cancer in both sexes.
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