“Cancer Epidemic”: – Very worried

Europe is facing a cancer epidemic, experts warn in a new report published in the prestigious journal scalpel. They report that 1 million people may have been diagnosed under the radar as a result of covid-19.

– A higher proportion of patients may have been diagnosed much later in the cancer course than before the epidemic, they write in the report, and point to significant delays in diagnosis and treatment.

– Fight the clock

The researchers believe that the pandemic and the closure of society have revealed weaknesses in the health system, and they concluded that doctors treated 1.5 million fewer cancer patients during the first year of the epidemic.

Also, one in two patients diagnosed with cancer should not have surgery or chemotherapy within a reasonable time, in addition to the fact that about a hundred million examinations have been postponed.

To show the extent of this, we estimate that nearly a million cancer cases may have gone under the radar, says Mark Lawler, the professor in charge of the study, according to the British newspaper. Watchman.

– We are struggling with the times to catch these issues.

closed laboratories

The pandemic has also affected cancer research for two years, according to Professor Mark Lawler, who points to, among other things, closed laboratories and postponements or interruptions in clinical testing.

He worries that Europe could enter a cancer epidemic in the next decade if health systems and cancer research are not prioritized.

Ellen (22 years old) will die soon

– With the spread of the pandemic, Britain’s exit from the European Union and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a backdrop, it is more important than ever that Europe develops a health system robust in cancer research, according to the British newspaper.

In the new study, the researchers also emphasized that more focus on prevention would be able to reduce the number of people diagnosed with cancer, thus ensuring that more resources are available to patients who need treatment.

– Very worried

According to the Secretary General of the Norwegian Cancer Society, Ingrid Stenstadvold-Ross, Norway has seen some of the same things that are shown in this report. She is particularly interested in cancer research on a global scale:

Much international research has come to a complete halt during the pandemic. We are very concerned about that. This is when one has to really care about research and prevention not being harmed, she tells Dagbladet, and points out the increase in the number of cancer cases:

In 2030, there will be 10,000 more cases of cancer per year in Norway than there are today. It’s exponential growth. If we are to address these matters, we must use the resources for further research.

Explosive ability

During the pandemic, screening for breast cancer and cervical cancer in particular has stalled. Figures from the Cancer Registry also show a decrease in the number of women diagnosed with lung cancer in 2020.

The famous doctor regrets: he has been ill for 30 years

– In all, we lost 55,000 Pap tests. The backlog has continued throughout the pandemic, Ross says.

Still think a lot of this has been made up for in the moment.

– She said that the number of breast cancer diagnoses in 2021 was so high that it could mean that cases that were not detected in 2020 were mostly detected in 2021.

Oral cancer is on the rise

– We’ve been late for a long time, but now we’re starting to catch up. However, we won’t have exact numbers on this for a few years. Late diagnosis can have something to say about survival.

– How was the backlog formed?

“We did what we could to encourage people to go to the doctor even though it was a pandemic,” Ross replies.

– The health service had to increase its capacity in the aftermath of the pandemic. Cancer doctors would probably say they have explosive potential.