Today is World Cancer Day and that is a reason to once again reflect on this terrible disease. Everyone knows someone in his or her environment who has (had) cancer or has died from it. In my case one of my best friends, father of two small children, who died at a young age (38 years) from the consequences of multiple brain tumors.
Attention to this disease remains necessary, as evidenced by the fact that the annual number of people who are diagnosed with cancer has doubled in the past three decades, from 56.000 in 1989 to 116.000 in 2018, according to the Dutch Cancer Registry. The increase is mainly explained by the aging population. Adjusted for the increase in the average age, the percentage of people developing cancer rose steadily between 1989 and 2011 and has remained at the same level ever since. Skin cancer is an exception to this, there has been a strong increase in the number of people who develop skin cancer, especially in the last decade.
Skin cancer
The number of people getting skin cancer is increasing. Both melanoma (more than 7.000) and squamous cell carcinoma (almost 14.000 new patients per year) are becoming more common. Squamous cell carcinoma often has a good prognosis. This also applies to most melanomas, which are usually diagnosed at an early stage. The NKR does not yet have national figures for the most common form of skin cancer, the less dangerous basal cell carcinoma. UV radiation from the sun (or tanning bed) in combination with aging is the main cause of skin cancer. This concerns exposure up to 30 years or more ago, because the influence of risk factors usually only becomes apparent after a long period of time. The increase in skin cancer can also partly be explained by greater awareness among the population, which means that suspicious skin abnormalities are examined more often.
Breast cancer, prostate cancer, colon cancer and lung cancer
In women, breast cancer is the most common cancer with 15.000 new diagnoses in 2018. This is 26.6% of all cancer diagnoses in women. In men, prostate cancer is most common with 12.500 newly diagnosed patients (20,8%). Bowel cancer comes in third place for both men and women, with a total of approximately 14.000 new patients in 2018. Due to the introduction of the population screening in 2014, there has been an increase in the number of diagnoses in subsequent years, followed by a drop to the level from before the introduction. In the coming years, it will be examined whether survival actually improves through early detection in the population screening.
Lung cancer is also a common type of cancer with more than 13.000 new patients in 2018. Due to the falling number of smokers, a decrease in the number of new patients is expected in the long term, but unfortunately people are still getting sick due to smoking behavior from many years ago. While the number of men with lung cancer is more or less stable compared to 2017, there were again more women with lung cancer in 2018 than in previous years. Of the common cancers, lung cancer has the lowest survival rate.
Survival
Although 64% of all cancer patients are still alive five years after diagnosis, this is only 19% among patients with lung cancer. The 5-year survival rate is also relatively low for ovarian cancer (38%), esophageal cancer (24%), stomach cancer (23%), pancreatic cancer (9%) and some rare cancers. Therefore, extra attention is needed for better identification, diagnosis and treatment of these forms of cancer, as well as screening and prevention.
World Cancer Day
On World Cancer Day, February 4, the cooperating cancer organizations draw attention to cancer with the slogan 'Cancer turns your world upside down. See what you can do.' View on www.worldcancerday.nl for an overview of hospitals, walk-in centers and other organizations that hold an open day or organize another activity on World Cancer Day.
When I come back to Thailand for a holiday and walk along the beaches, I wonder if people are aware of the harmfulness of the sun's rays.
Skins so deep brown and it looks like tan, I find that shocking and when the first beach sun shines again in the Netherlands in April / May I see them there as well, they continue in the Netherlands so cheerfully.
And I just read that in America they conducted a major study and concluded that young people are not healthier than the elderly and that cancer is growing at an alarming rate due to obesity
I find the effect of the sun's rays to be fairly minor. The body has its mechanism for that.
And how do people in Africa do it? They walk all day in the burning sun.
I think the effects of things such as manipulation of our food are more harmful. Do we remember what we eat and drink?
I see enough cases in which manufacturers ruthlessly go for profit / growth / shareholder interest.
The people in Africa have a black (dark) skin, which blocks the carcinogenic UV radiation.
That is why people in the tropics always have dark skin.
The white skin of the Northerners was evolutionarily necessary, because dark skin inhibited the production of vitamin D by sunlight in the body.
The albinos in Africa usually get cancer very quickly.
This article will not make you happy!
The positive sound is forgotten.
When I started in healthcare in 1979, many people were still dying of cancer despite treatment.
Then on average 70% died versus 30% alive.
Diagnoses and treatment techniques have since improved enormously.
Many children with leukemia died despite treatment with radiation, chemotherapy or preventive amputation.
Today, that percentage is reversed. So 70% remains alive. That's a great result, I think.
That gives hope, and hope gives life.