Cancer is no longer a death sentence

MANILA, Philippines — Cancer need not be an automatic death sentence anymore, nor should it diminish quality of life for those battling the disease.

At the recently concluded forum on World Cancer Day held by global biopharmaceutical company MSD in the Philippines, the burden of cancer in the country was discussed, as well as the multidisciplinary approach that hopes to lessen the impact of cancer upon lives.

Cancer was responsible for 8.8 million deaths in 2015, and the number of new cases is expected to rise by about 70 percent over the next two decades, if no intervention is done. Nearly one in six deaths is caused by cancer diseases, as reported by the World Health Organization (WHO) in its 2018 fact sheet on the epidemic.

In the Philippines, seven Filipino adults die of cancer every hour and eight children die of the disease daily.

The alarming healthcare problem of cancer brought together the Philippine Society of Oncologists (PSO) and Philippine Society of Medical Oncology (PSMO) advocate groups at the recent forum held at Manila Diamond Hotel, which was a post-celebration of the global World Cancer Day campaign that was held last Feb. 4 by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC).

Speakers in the panel discussion included Dr. Claire Soliman, president of PSMO; Dr. Dennis Tudtud, previous PSMO president; Dr. Jorge Ignacio, past president of PSO/ Cancer Institute head of Philippine General Hospital; Dr. Conrado Lola, president of PSO; and Dr. Nelia Tan-Liu, pathologist at the Lung Center of the Philippines. Diego Castro, lung cancer advocacy ambassador and TV personality, facilitated the forum. 

The panel saw the World Cancer Day, themed “We can. I can.” is an opportunity to strengthen collaboration to increase awareness and action to address the challenges in the full spectrum of cancer prevention and control, including palliative care.

The fight against cancer called for improving access to cancer screening, diagnosis, and treatment for Filipinos, especially those that live in far-flung areas of the country. “We have more upcoming cancer centers in cities in Visayas and Mindanao that will be equipped with linear accelerators, radiation facilities, as well as important diagnostic equipment that will be needed for proper diagnosis and staging of the disease,” said Dr. Tudtud. 

Also some of the landmarks of the government’s Philippine Cancer Control Program are the national awareness campaigns and capacity-building initiatives at the local level, establishment of a National Cancer Center and Strategic Satellite Cancer Centers, and the Medicine Access Program and PhilHealth Z Benefit Package Coverage for cancers such as breast, prostrate, cervical, and childhood acute lymphocytic leukemia.

“We’re working on expanding the PhilHealth Z Package to include other cancer diseases associated with top mortalities,” said Dr. Ignacio. “Now there’s an ongoing hospice bill for terminally ill patients.  Even for those considered terminally ill, there’s something we can offer for patients. We cannot stop at any stage of the disease.”

Lung cancer advocacy ambassador and World Cancer Day forum facilitator Diego Castro and panel
speakers sign the expression board with their personal game plan against cancer.
 

The promise of Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy was highlighted in the forum for being a breakthrough treatment against lung cancer and soon, for other cancers such as melanoma, and head and neck cancers, to name a few.

“Since the ’90s, there have been studies on tumor environment and how our immune system relates to it,” said Dr. Ignacio. “Our immune system can’t recognize abnormal cancer cells because of PD-L1, the Programmed Death-Ligand 1, which is a protein that is exhibited by the cells of the body to avoid being attacked by the immune system. Cancer cells have been found to similarly inhibit the same protein for the same effect. Now, with immunotherapy, we are entering an era in which our immune system can now recognize the cancer cells and fight them without killing the good cells.”

The Philippine Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved immunotherapy as a first-line treatment for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Studies have shown that immunotherapy has a positive impact on the quality of life and survival of patients.

“Different types and stages of cancer require different treatment types and medicines,” said Soliman. “Immunotherapy at present is used to treat advanced stages of cancers. For example, a patient with stage-4 melanoma has a five percent survival rate in five years. Studies have shown that immunotherapy increases the survival rate from five percent to as much as 40 percent for those with stage-4 melanoma.”

Immunotherapy does not cause side effects like those caused by chemotherapy. “This new treatment has opened the possibility of less toxicity, with better impact on efficacy,” noted Dr. Ignacio. “This gives patients the opportunity to live a meaningful life.”

The cancer game plan

Winning cancer through prevention, screening, early detection, and treatment is particularly espoused by Diego Castro, who is the ambassador of “Hope From Within: Test, Talk, Take Action” against lung cancer advocacy.

“The dreaded ‘C’ has in one way or another affected our lives,” he says. “For me, these were my parents. As many of you may already know, Angelo Castro, my father, died of lung cancer. My mother, June Keithley’s life was also taken away by cancer a year later. Being able to speak up about cancer is really close to my heart.”

This year, the campaign will expand its game plan to include awareness and prevention campaigns against other cancers such as melanoma, head and neck, Hodgkin lymphoma, gastric and bladder cancers.

“Cancer Game Plan” is an upcoming social awareness campaign to help an individual impacted by cancer — together with their families and caregivers — manage their emotional, health, and communication needs throughout their journey.

“Cancer is no longer a death sentence, but merely a challenge,” emphasized Castro, who encouraged everyone to sign their commitment and personal game plan against cancer on the event expression board. “With each other’s help, we can truly overcome cancer and many other diseases that we face.”