BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WBKO) – The American Cancer Society estimates by 2050, the number of cancer cases globally will reach 35 million, a statistic medical professionals hope to mitigate with informational holidays like World Cancer Day.
The goal of the day is to raise awareness about cancer and its treatments, as well as bolster those fighting the disease. Dr. Irene Li, a Radiation Oncologist with Med Center Health, said there have been many changes in the medical field regarding cancer diagnoses and treatments over the last few years.
“One thing that is somewhat troubling that we have noticed in the recent several years, is we’re seeing a lot more younger patients,” said Li. “The particular reason behind that is yet to be determined; it could be multifactorial based on habits, diet, almost anything along with genetics and various other typically known risk factors.”
Given this, Li said she and many other medical professionals transitioned to a more individualized approach for treatments.
“We have nurse navigation and social worker services to help,” Li continued. “A lot of times we see patients who have transportation issues, and so at Med Center we also offer assistance with that. The Medical Center Foundation has oftentimes contributed to helping patients with the financial aspects of that.”
With the myriad of unknowns and contributing factors that come with cancer, it can be easy to fall victim to misinformation, especially in the age of social media. Li encouraged patients to do their own research for things like symptoms or treatment help, but to also take anything read with a grain of salt.
“Especially for the medical community, we like to have very robust trials over thousands of patients with years of data, usually ideally at least 10 years of data, to show that whatever the intervention is, is trustworthy,” Li explained. “Some anecdotal things out there might be very helpful, but if they don’t give the specific details about their cancer or cancer journey, like very detailed information, then they’ve got to think twice about that.”
Li also stressed the importance of early detection and consistent check-ins, especially for those with a family history of cancer, to ensure optimal treatment.
“So family history can be a strong risk factor, particularly breast cancer, colorectal and GI cancers,” said Li. “There are strong genes associated with some of those, so if there’s a very strong family history, then it’d be good to consider genetic testing as well as follow the guidelines for the regular screenings.”
Li encouraged those worried about cancer to avoid smoking, exercise regularly, maintain a healthy weight and talk to a medical professional about any concerns.
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