Together with Evgeny Cheryomushkin, an oncologist, candidate of medical sciences, senior researcher at the Institute of Clinical Oncology of the Russian Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, the editorial staff of Woman’s Day tried to figure out why so many reports of new cases of cancer among young artists have recently fallen upon us.
There has really been a flurry of scary messages lately. In the past three days alone, the world has lost David Bowie, Alan Rickman and Rene Angelil to this disease.
On June 15, in the prime of her life, the singer Zhanna Friske passed away, who bravely fought a serious illness – an inoperable brain tumor. The public did not have time to recover after the death of their beloved performer, as brain cancer was diagnosed in the opera singer Dmitry Hvorostovsky, and then a malignant tumor was found in the star of the series “Sasha Tanya”… And then the news poured in: they found cancer from the opera singer Zurab Sotkilava, from the famous cyclist Ivan Basso, the father of Viktor Tsoi and the mother of the participant of the TV project “House-2” Aliana Gobozova Svetlana Ustinenko asked for financial assistance for the treatment of tumors.
Here, even without being an alarmist, you will think: what is happening? Is this the plague of the XXI century, from which no one is immune? The editorial staff of Woman’s Day spoke with Evgeny Cheryomushkin, an oncologist, candidate of medical sciences, senior researcher at the Institute of Clinical Oncology of the Russian Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, and tried to understand why there are so many reports about cancer around.
Myth: in the Middle Ages, the population of the planet was mowed down by the plague epidemic; in the modern world, cancer has replaced the “black death”. The number of patients is growing every day …
Righteousness:
The disease of Zhanna Friske, Dmitry Hvorostovsky, Andrey Gaidulyan is not a global pandemic, but a coincidence. Artists are always in sight, and if something is wrong with their health, it is much more difficult to hide it from society, you see, than for an ordinary person, whose life is only interested in close people. Some stars speak frankly about their diseases, others are silent, and there are many more people like that. It cannot be said that cancer has become more frequent in the past year or this year. Not oncological, but cardiovascular diseases still rank first among the causes of mortality in the population. Sometimes traumas that are incompatible with life become leaders. Injuries and oncological diseases periodically change places.
Andrei Gaidulyan, fortunately, was able to defeat the disease
Myth: If earlier only the elderly suffered from this scourge, now the cancer has spread to the young.
Righteousness:
Cancer really was once a misfortune for the elderly, and all because, for example, in 1940, the average life expectancy in the USSR was 38,6 years for men, 43,9 for women, that is, at this age a person was already old. And now people live for 70 years or more, and at 50 they are considered still young. And it turns out that in those distant years, some of our ancestors simply did not live up to the moment when they could develop cancer, they died earlier. In addition, it should be borne in mind that even 30 years ago there were not so many technologies in the world, and with them harmful factors. Technology and production are evolving, but our body does not have time to do it so quickly and adapt to a destructive environment. Cancer is a genetic safety issue. The worse the ecology and the more harmful factors, the more likely breakdowns in the genome.
Myth: a tumor can appear even in a person who leads a healthy lifestyle, no one is insured!
Righteousness:
Of course, anyone can get sick, but in fact, the likelihood of developing cancer directly depends on the heredity and lifestyle of a person. They opened borders all over the world, and people began to fly to exotic countries, fry in the sun three times a year, and the incidence of melanoma increased many times over. We have a chemical production facility, and the number of bladder tumors among the employees of such enterprises has increased. A person started to smoke – the risk of developing lung diseases increased. The list of pests can be endless, but the result will be the same – all negative chronic effects of the external environment invade our genome and can cause the development of cancer.
Myth: in our country people suffer from oncology more often, because doctors detect the disease too late.
Righteousness:
In developed countries, and Russia is such, outbreaks of oncology are observed less often than, say, in poor African countries, where such a viral infection as hepatitis C, a provocateur of liver tumors, is common. We do not have epidemics and we have technologies that help to identify the disease at an early stage. Today we are discovering the possibility of developing cancer of the ovaries, gastrointestinal tract, lungs using markers. That is, having done a blood test, we can identify mutations in cells at the genetic level, notice the production of certain pathological proteins in the body, be alert and start looking for the cause of the breakdown. If we fight the disease at an early stage, then we get 90 percent success. But, alas, there are forms of tumors that are difficult to determine, for example, when it comes to the brain. You won’t be doing magnetic resonance imaging every year for prophylaxis, are you? That is why such dangerous diseases are most often accidental findings.
Myth: you cannot suspect cancer in yourself, because it does not manifest itself in any way.
Righteousness:
This is partly true. When a tumor develops, it does not cause any symptoms, the cells slowly change and destroy the adjacent tissues. But there are still some warning signs to watch out for. The process, which is accompanied by rapid cell division, for example, leukemia and some types of cancer of the reproductive system, may be accompanied by a rise in temperature, weakness, sweating. Sometimes the body responds to the onset of cancer with a kind of allergy – paraneoplastic syndrome. That is, nonspecific reactions from various organs. True, this syndrome is very difficult to recognize. It is easier to notice the formation of spherical structures in tissues. What does it mean? If you notice that a bump has appeared on your back, arm, leg, you should not wave your hand: “It will pass by itself,” but run to the doctor.
Myth: if you think a lot about cancer, then you will have it!
Righteousness:
You can’t think of cancer, but you can spur it on. Do not forget that our brain is the pinnacle of human evolution, it is natural that if you have disorders of the central nervous system, then this process can trigger the development of cancer, but not directly, but indirectly. For example, a person in psychosis begins to smoke constantly and thereby earns a lung disease, or due to neurosis he abuses alcohol and unhealthy food and as a result gets a stomach ulcer. Stress is primarily the cause of cardiovascular disease, and in the case of oncology, it simply accelerates all negative processes.
- It is necessary to visit a general practitioner for a preventive examination at least once a year, provided that you do not have a predisposition to cancer and genetic defects, for example, intestinal polyposis. By the way, a genetic predisposition to cancer can be identified using a special test that can be done in Russia. The Woman’s Day correspondent, by the way, experienced this technique on herself. And if there are prerequisites, observe more often.
- Each age group has its own set of medical examinations and its own risk group. Young people are not looking for chronic diseases, doctors check for tumors of the kidneys, skeletal system, leukemia, lymphomas, that is, all those types of oncology that are rapidly forming. If the patient is between 20 and 30 years old, the physician first of all pays attention to his complaints. Then he examines the mucous membranes, ENT organs, the fundus, prescribes a comprehensive ultrasound scan to assess the condition of the lymph nodes, since they are the first to signal breakdowns in the body, give directions for a general analysis of blood, urine, feces for occult blood.
- A slightly different approach is used for diagnostic examinations of patients over 30 years of age. In adulthood, the nature of cancer changes: the reproductive system, gastrointestinal tract, lungs, liver, and aging skin suffer. Consideration of bad habits and lifestyle plays a significant role here. An aim is made to examine the lungs, upper respiratory tract, digestive tract and, of course, the skin, which does not get younger over the years.