Key points:
- Identify alternatives not only for cancer treatment but also for its prevention
- Cancer accounted for 10 million deaths worldwide in 2021
- ABC Medical Center helps in the prevention, early diagnosis, and multidisciplinary treatment of this condition
The World Health Organization (WHO) has indicated that cancer is one of the main causes of death in the world, accounting for almost 10 million deaths in 2021. Dr. Fernando Cordera González de Cosío, an oncologist surgeon at ABC Medical Center, indicates that, in Mexico, cancer became the third cause of mortality in 2021, being only below COVID-19 and coronary heart disease.
Gradually, the fight against cancer is being won. Screening tests have been developed and implemented more frequently to prevent cancer or detect it in earlier stages or attack it from several points:
- Prevention: through the use of vaccines, eliminating risk factors such as tobacco or alcohol, controlling overweight, exercising, using sunscreen, etc.
- Early detection: through tests such as mammogram, Pap smear, colonoscopy, prostate antigen, tomography in smokers, genetic tests, and more.
- Appropriate treatment: performed by a multidisciplinary team of experts that could include oncologist surgeons, oncologists, radiation oncologists, therapists, and nutritionists, among others.
Various types of cancer can be prevented or detected early, so the following is recommended for the most common:
- Breast cancer: women should have an annual mammogram starting at age 40.
- Cervical cancer: through the application of the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine in boys and girls between 9 and 14 years old. Subsequently, it is recommended to perform a Pap smear at least every three years from the age of 21.
- Prostate cancer: men should have a prostate antigen test with or without a digital rectal exam every year from the age of 50.
- Colorectal cancer: men and women should have a colonoscopy every 10 years starting at age 45.
- Lung cancer: the main recommendation is to quit smoking, but additionally, and if you have smoked for more than 30 years, a chest tomography should be performed annually from the age of 55.
If a person has an oncological diagnosis, it is vitally important to go to specialized centers to receive multidisciplinary treatment from specialists.
At the ABC Medical Center’s Cancer Center we can provide you with specialized care.
Fuentes:
Dr. Fernando Cordera González de Cosío – oncologist surgeon at ABC Medical Center.
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/cancer
