Invasive procedures improve cancer treatment

Dr Joseph Kamugisha Cancer is known to be the most aggressive non-communicable disease that has been on the rise in recent years. But to erase fears on this issue, there has been successful and progressive development of treatment modalities that counteract challenges posed by the malignancy. Due to increased incidence of cancer in many countries worldwide, countries have come up with policies and invested heavily in sensitisation of people against cancer risk factors as well as development of modern treatment facilities. There is currently a big gap in cancer management between the western world and African states due to economic and technological differences. However, we remain optimistic that the gap will be closed to a certain extent in the near future. Management of cancer requires a multi-disciplinary approach with good medical expertise. A combination of medical discipline and expertise are always required for treatment of cancer patients. Most importantly you need three major areas of medical/clinical oncology, surgery and radiation in order to have an oncology department. Success in treatment outcomes is currently centered on adequate information regarding the pathology of the disease and good use of invasive procedures during surgical interventions. Mutations cause cancer in our body cells and the elaborative work, outcomes from cancer genetic expertise help to guide cancer physicians on the right treatment options. Genetic predisposition or inheritance is the highest risk factor for cancer occurrence. It is well known that cancer is a disease that can rise from inherited genetic cells or rise from somatic cells. Usually patients with strong family history of cancer are sent to the oncology genetics department for tests that differentiate cancer of genetic origin from that of somatic origin. Even asymptomatic individuals, especially relatives of cancer victims, can also be screened for possible genetic abnormalities in advance. Various cancer conditions do possess varying mutations and these are revealed through genetic laboratory tests. Good outcomes in genetics studies offer a wide range of results and options for treatment. This has led to development of a variety of effective drugs such as targeted immuno therapies that offer good survival advantage for cancer patients. Usually an invasive procedure is a medical procedure used to penetrate the body for any life-saving intervention. Many materials can be used for a variety of surgical-cancer interventions. Surgery is an important treatment component for various cancer conditions. Not every surgeon qualifies to operate or work on a cancer patient. In modern settings, oncology surgeons are required to resect tumors and make sure minimal (or no) margins remain after surgery to avoid risks of possible recurrence. However, it’s a shared experience that good hands of a surgeon will always come up with a desired outcome. Robotic surgery is a choice in many modern settings to operate several cancer conditions such as prostate cancer, among others. This kind of surgery offers successful resection of tumors. This kind of surgery offers advantages such as to minimise surgical sites, minimise bleeding, shorten patient stay in the hospital and, in most cases, offer quicker recovery. However, the procedure calls for sophisticated expertise and it’s so expensive that many cancer centres cannot afford it. Apart from tumor resection, the hyperthermic intra-peritoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) is an important and advanced life-saving procedure used in treatment of cancer that has widely spread to the peritoneum or intra-abdominal wall. The HIPEC is also treatment of choice for mucinous adenocarcinoma with intra-abdominal spread or peritoneal carcinoma. HIPEC is usually a heated chemotherapy and highly concentrated treatment that is delivered directly to the abdomen during surgery. HIPEC delivers chemotherapy directly to cancer cells in the abdomen. This allows for higher doses of chemotherapy treatment. Heating the solution may also improve the absorption of chemotherapy drugs by tumors and destroy microscopic cancer cells that remain in the abdomen after surgery. It is well-known that cancer cells do not survive in high temperatures. This procedure was invented by American surgeon Alan Sugar many years ago and the highly innovative skill from the old man is one of the most intriguing top quality surgical innovations in recent centuries. Successful management of cancer calls for fresh ideas and efforts. Cancer being a tricky disease, you need to employ a creative mind to offer good treatment options. Missed steps in management of cancer patients may lead to recurrence, spread of the disease and prompt death of the patient. Think of the situation where you chase monkeys from your garden, but you land in a leopard cave and face a much more complicated opponent with no right weapons to use. Indeed, there is urgent need to set up functional and equipped cancer centres in order to overcome challenges posed by rising incidence of cancer diseases in the country.

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Invasive procedures improve cancer treatment