A few days ago, during a press conference, oncologists from the University Hospital in Krakow alerted that the situation was dramatic. The number of cancer patients is growing by leaps and bounds, and the centers have a problem to cope with. How did this happen and what can be done? For MedTvoiLokony, says prof. Piotr Wysocki, head of the Clinical Oncology Department of the University Hospital in Krakow.
- Oncologists estimate that up to 2020 people were overlooked in 40. tumors
- These patients only see a doctor this year. Some of them have tumors that have grown so much that they cannot be operated on right away. Immediate chemotherapy is needed
- All centers in the country are on the verge of efficiency. There is a shortage of staff everywhere, and the number of patients is increasing
- More information can be found on the Onet homepage.
Agnieszka Mazur-Puchała, Medonet: “We are on the edge” – you said during last week’s conference. How did it come about?
Prof. Piotr Wysocki, head of the Clinical Oncology Department of the University Hospital in Krakow: It started to get tough as soon as the pandemic started. In order to secure the oncology ward, we had to move to completely different conditions. From a newly commissioned, modern hospital in Prokocim, we returned to the centuries-old buildings of the former university hospital. It was the first moment that influenced our working conditions. But thanks to this, we were able to operate continuously. We practically avoided COVID-19 among the staff. These were just isolated cases. As one of the few centers in Poland, during the first wave, we had full capacity and could function normally. As a result, large groups of patients from all over Poland began to come to us, and due to the pandemic, treatment in their parent centers was suspended.
From then on, the workload on staff increased all the time. These were not new patients who had just been diagnosed with cancer, but those for whom continued treatment was essential for survival. This was what we faced primarily between the first and second waves.
What is the situation now?
Now, after the third wave, diagnostic and therapeutic possibilities in the field of early cancer detection and treatment are returning. And you can see that the group of patients in whom it is too late to undergo independent surgery and close the oncological treatment process is growing rapidly. The tumors from last year are so large that surgeons are not able to operate on them right away – first, chemotherapy is needed to reduce them. Only then can surgeons give the patient a chance to heal.
We’ve had an influx of patients needing follow-up throughout the past year, and now we’re seeing a spike in the number of patients who require immediate treatment. We are on the verge of endurance. With the maximum workload of staff, the lines we tried to keep as short as possible become dramatically longer. Some patients who come to us for consultations wait two to three months. These are the realities.
It’s a vicious circle. People now diagnosed with cancer will have to wait for treatment, so the tumor will grow and require immediate chemotherapy … Can’t these patients be sent back somewhere with lower queues?
The problem is that this wave of patients is not just sweeping through our center. Last year, 20 percent were detected. fewer tumors. Fewer diagnostic cards for oncological treatment were issued. It is estimated that approx. 2020 thousand jobs were overlooked in 40. sick. These people will come with a much more advanced disease this year. In addition, as every year, there will also be those patients whose cancer was detected at an early stage in 2021. About 180-200 thousand. people.
All this puts a sudden strain on all centers. The University Hospital is a huge unit with great possibilities when it comes to diagnostics and surgical treatment, so naturally we have a lot of patients. We try to send them to centers that cooperate with us. But it is not the case that oncology units in Sucha Beskidzka, Bielsko-Biała or Nowy Sącz have free processing capacity. There is also a lack of staff there.
Am I to understand that all centers treating oncology patients in Poland are on the verge of efficiency?
Exactly. We said this because we are a center that is on the front line in terms of the possibilities and number of patients who go to the largest multi-specialist hospital in Poland. But it is the same in all centers in the country, not only in Krakow. Across Poland.
Also read:
- Not only Kadcyla. Cancer drugs have quietly disappeared from the list
- More and more Polish women die of breast cancer. Money from the government is not helping
- Poland: more and more malignant tumors
- Doctors remember the famous oncologist. “Unimaginable, we are in powder”
- Can Early Breast Cancer Be Cured? Explains the oncologist
The content of the medTvoiLokony website is intended to improve, not replace, the contact between the Website User and their doctor. The website is intended for informational and educational purposes only. Before following the specialist knowledge, in particular medical advice, contained on our Website, you must consult a doctor. The Administrator does not bear any consequences resulting from the use of information contained on the Website. Do you need a medical consultation or an e-prescription? Go to halodoctor.pl, where you will get online help – quickly, safely and without leaving your home.