2023-11-21 14:10:47
Patients with metastatic breast cancer emphasize that the disease has affected them but tomorrow it can happen to anyone, which is why they have asked society to know the reality of the pathology, inform themselves and not leave them alone.
(From left to right, the director of the International Breast Cancer Center (IBCC), Javier Cortés; the president of the Spanish Association of Metastatic Breast Cancer (AECMM), Pilar Fernández; the president of the Male Breast Cancer Association ( INVI), Màrius Soler; and the country director of Seagen Spain, María Baquerizo. PHOTO EFE/David Fernández
And they did it in the meeting “Bringing your goals to life: broadening horizons for metastatic breast patients”, organized by EFEsalud in collaboration with the company Seagen, the Spanish Association of Metastatic Breast Cancer (AECMM) y the Male Breast Cancer Association (INVI).
Figures for metastatic breast cancer
In Spain, more than 35,000 cases of breast cancer per yearof which 1% are detected in men.
Of the total breast carcinomas, between 5 and 6 percent have metastases at the time of diagnosis and approximately two in ten patients will develop it over time.
At the moment, metastatic breast cancer has no cure and the average survival ranges between four and five years, according to the AECMM.
The reality of metastatic breast cancer
In the debate, which took place at the EFE headquarters, participants Dr. Javier Cortés, director of the International Breast Cancer Center (IBCC); Pilar Fernández, president of the AECMM; Màrius Soler, president of INVI; and María Baquerizo, country director of Seagen Spain.
Pilar Fernandez has stated that when there is metastasis in cancer, the reality is absolutely different from when there is not and that first you have to overcome a process of acceptance and adaptation to the new situation of living “with uncertainty and fear.”
The president of the AECMM, Pilar Fernández. PHOTO EFE/David Fernández.
“Your life will not be like before,” stressed the president of AECMM.
In the same sense it has been pronounced Marius Solerwho has also emphasized the importance of having a good relationship with health professionals along the way because only warmth “is healing.”
Survival is increasing
Precisely, the director of the IBCC has stressed that behind the numbers of metastatic breast cancer are the patients and has defended the humanization of medicine.
Dr. Cortés has highlighted that Spain is a pioneer in clinical research and therefore hope for patients must always be maximum, since the median survival rate is increasing and the country’s medicine is of “high quality.”
The director of the IBCC, Dr. Javier Cortés. PHOTO EFE/David Fernández
For this reason, he has been convinced that the disease will become chronic or it will cure but there are still a large number of patients who die from the pathology, which is why he has asked “not to let our guard down.”
The president of the AECMM has pointed out that it is anA disease that when it enters the family “devastates everything” because it not only affects the patient, but the entire environment, after which he highlighted the importance of the figure of the caregiver “who deserves special treatment.”
And you have to pay special attention to the children of the family, said Pilar Fernández, to explain the situation well to them because although it may not seem like it, they find out everything and also need to understand what is happening around them.
To better cope with the disease, the participants in the meeting have highlighted the figure of the psycho-oncologist, but also that of the patients themselves helping each other, because no one better than them understands what they are going through.
The shadow of the stigma
The disease too hits the working life of patientsbecause with metastatic breast cancer “access to the market is practically impossible”: “No one is going to hire you and those who have a job usually lose it because absenteeism is very high,” Pilar Fernández stressed.
The solution “unfortunately” is to request incapacity for work, Fernández and Soler have pointed out, after which they have called on doctors so that when they make reports they also take into account the side effects of the treatments and not minimize them.
The president of INVI, Màrius Soler. PHOTO EFE/David Fernández
With all this, the presidents of the AECMM and INVI have stressed that there is “stigmatization” of patients with metastatic breast cancer, because, among other things, society does not want to talk about this disease considering that the word metastasis “is linked to death.”
“We are stigmatized. There is still a certain rejection, I think there is a lack of information,” according to Fernández, who has considered that people do not want to hear about cancer because they think it will never affect them, but “it affects all families.”
It can happen to anyone
Now it’s them, but tomorrow it could be anyone’s turn, insisted the participants, who have asked society to be informed and sensitized to the disease.
“It is a very harsh reality, but there is hope. “Do not leave us alone, accompany us on this journey because we need it,” asked the president of the AECMM.
Màrius Soler has insisted on alerting men that it can also happen to them and that if they notice any abnormality in the nipple, do not hesitate to consult a doctor.
At this point, María Baquerizo has expressed her commitment to patients and support for both associations to launch a campaign that makes the disease visible and so that the reality of the patients, the deficiencies and their needs are known.
María Baquerizo, country director of Seagen Spain. PHOTO EFE/David Fernández.
Thus, Dr. Javier Cortés has urged to raise awareness, sensitize and not stigmatize.
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