Nearly a third of cancer survivors would have liked to have had more information about the possible side effects of their treatment.
In the world, nearly one in six deaths is due to cancer. To treat cancer, the three most commonly used treatments are surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. But, unfortunately, each of them can lead to serious side effects, the nature of which will vary from one patient to another. Many patients report fatigue and hair loss while others report nausea, vomiting, mood swings, trouble sleeping and loss of appetite. In some cases, chemo can lead to heart or nerve damage and ultimately fertility problems. Radiation therapy, on the other hand, can lead to serious skin problems, such as painful, dry patches and itching. And if all these potential problems are well known to specialists, patients feel very ill-informed on this subject. According to a study published in the Journal of Oncology Practicenearly a third of cancer survivors believe that we should be more informed about the possible side effects of treatments.
To reach this conclusion, researchers from the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City (USA) interviewed more than 400 American adults who had been treated for cancer with radiation therapy in the past five years. In addition to this treatment, 41% of them had also received chemotherapy and 52% had undergone surgery. Survey results: chemo seems to be the heaviest treatment in terms of side effects, followed by surgery and finally radiotherapy. In addition, one in five respondents would have liked to have more information on the possible side effects of their treatment before starting it. In nine cases out of ten, it was with their attending physician that they had inquired.
Patients who had been treated with surgery wished they had been told more about the numbness, pain and nerve damage. In the case of chemo, respondents would have liked to know more about fatigue, nerve damage and gastrointestinal symptoms. As for radiotherapy, they would have liked to have more details on fatigue and gastrointestinal symptoms as well, as well as possible skin irritation.
exhausted patients
In detail, more than a quarter of patients treated with radiotherapy said they felt weaker or tired than expected. Nearly a third of them said they were much more exhausted than they expected. And unsurprisingly, the patients who underwent the three treatments were those who reported the greatest fatigue.
“The pronounced impact of treatment side effects in patients receiving combination therapy also suggests the need for better coordination between oncology disciplines with respect to side effect management and to improve processes of informed consent in all cancer treatments,” explains Dr. Narek Shaverdian, radiation oncologist and first author of the study.
Also, although some experiments took place without major side effects, a more in-depth consultation on the possible problems related to cancer treatment could help patients to better prepare for what awaits them, concludes the researcher.
Cancer, the leading cause of premature death in France
In France, since 2004, cancer has been the leading cause of premature death in France, ahead of cardiovascular diseases. According to figures from the National Cancer Institute (INCa)the number of new cases of cancer for 2018 in metropolitan France is estimated at 382,000, 204,600 in men and 177,400 in women.
In the latter, breast cancer is the most common (59,000 new cases in 2013), followed by colon-rectum (21,000 cases) and lung (17,000 cases). Men are mainly affected by cancer of the prostate (48,427 cases), then of the lung (32,500 cases) and of the colon-rectum (24,000 cases).
To reduce the risk of developing cancer, the health authorities are trying to encourage the French to change certain behaviors: reduce alcohol, consume less salt or even have a cervico-vaginal smear regularly for women.
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