According to a survey conducted by YouGov International Research Center, the focus of international public opinion on reaching "cancer treatment" has hidden the tremendous progress that doctors have made in extending the lives of patients with cancer and turning it into a long-term controllable disease.
The UK Cancer Research Institute website said in its report that only 28% of people consider cancer a long-term controllable disease even though the average person with cancer currently lives more than 10 years.
And while only a quarter of people think that long-term survival rates after cancer increase greatly, 39% feel that cancer can be treated, that is, reduce symptoms without the risk of relapse.
The London-based Cancer Research Institute believes that an exclusive focus on cancer risk treatment ignores the tremendous progress that researchers have made, which allowed people with advanced disease to live longer and in good health.
Although many people with cancer in an advanced stage believe that there is no cure for their disease yet, researchers at the Institute are making strenuous efforts to offer new targeted therapies that can contribute to a significantly longer life expectancy.
Therapy
The Cancer Research Institute pointed out that although cancer treatment will always be the ultimate goal for patients and researchers, new methods of treatment currently offer hope for controlling advanced diseases even in the long term.
Statistics show that the average age of cancer patients nearly doubled over a decade, as new drugs, mixed and immunomodulatory treatments improved long-term control of the disease.
The institute noted that Chris Mortimer of Devon was 61 years old when she found her chronic myeloid leukemia 10 years ago.
Overall, Chrissy has lived well despite having such a disease thanks to Imatinb, one of the first cancer treatments.
"They told me that I had cancer, it all happened quickly, and I didn't have time to know what was happening to me and what the diagnosis meant for me," said Chrissi - who is now 71 and who managed to continue working as well as volunteering to support refugees. For my future, doctors have used a treatment targeting cancer cells, and I am still undergoing the same treatment. "
10 years
"I never thought that cancer was a treatable disease, but it has been 10 years since I was diagnosed with it, and I live very well as I still work one day a week, and I devote much of my time to supporting a local refugee family, in addition to Do a lot of yoga. "
"I realize that I live with cancer, but that does not prevent me from living my life, and there is still much that I want to do, and I hope that new treatments will be discovered and developed."
In 2005 Barbara Richie Lines of Birmingham was diagnosed with breast cancer, and after eight years after receiving treatment she was no longer undergoing active treatment and cancer did not reappear, so successful treatment enabled her to have a good time with her grandchildren.
In this regard, Barbara explained the impact that the difference in cancer research and treatment has had on her life. "When the doctors first diagnosed my condition, I was told that I would probably live for only 12 months, but I was able to live for another 14 years, and I am very grateful that I managed To live and have time with my new grandchildren. "
She added, "Certainly cancer always returns, but I will continue to live my life, and I hope we will continue to see new drugs and treatments. No matter how developed the cancer, doctors will be ready and able to overcome the disease, so cancer should not be the end, but rather It could be the beginning of a whole new life. "
Holy Cup
In this context, Dr. Olivia Rossanez - who will head the biology department at the new Cancer Drug Discovery Center - said: "Cancer treatment will always be the holy grail of researchers and patients, but focusing exclusively on this risk obscures the tremendous progress we are making to combat this disease, as Cancer patients are in an advanced stage to adapt to it. "
"At the Cancer Research Institute, our goal is to discover many anti-disease treatments in order to overcome its ability to resist drugs, and as a result we cannot only treat a greater proportion of patients, in return we can give others who suffer from the disease an opportunity to live longer and better lives." ".
For his part, CEO of Cancer Research Institute Paul Workman pointed out that "overcoming the challenge of cancer development and drug resistance is the key to overcoming this disease, and through our new center for discovering anti-cancer drugs we aim to find new anti-cancer treatment methods that allow us to control advanced cases." In the long term, as well as giving an increasing proportion of patients an opportunity to be treated. "