Early breast cancer: this fear is with us all the time. Security is needed

Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed malignancy in women. In Poland, the April list of reimbursed drugs brought good news for patients with early breast cancer. But have the needs of this group of patients already been fully met?

Unfortunately, not all needs are covered. There is also a group of patients who have a small tumor or even those who do not have lymph node metastases or those with involved cold nodes, that is, after various lines of treatment. These are patients who, while they have been effectively treated, are very afraid of recurrence. There is a high probability that over the years this relapse will occur in them. It happens even after 20 years! That's why we have this proposal, and it's a kind of solution: a therapy that is already known in our country, but which can be applied differently, that is, in patients as a hedge against the risk of recurrence, minimizing this risk of recurrence. And here we would eliminate such the most stressful element for the woman. But also that the patient will not have to be treated again in the future, because these recurrences often, especially if they occur much later, are difficult to catch. It's a huge achievement that the risk of recurrence can be predicted and hedged in advance. We are counting on reimbursements that will already allow us to truly comprehensively secure the drug program for the treatment of breast cancer, so that there are no inequalities. I am glad that the Ministry of Health has such an openness and readiness to supplement the drug program very quickly if something comes up, and I think this will also happen with ciclib

And do patients with early breast cancer have this awareness? They are afraid of this recurrence....

Every woman even those who have a small tumor, an early tumor. I had this conversation:

"Ma'am," the patient says to me, "I received a death sentence, I found a 6-millimeter tumor."

We know that this is often not a death sentence, however, please see, if still at the stage of diagnosis there is a powerful fear that the cancer has already spread, then when the treatment is completed, there is euphoria, satisfaction, but just a moment after that there is a question: is this true? I know that my friends get recurrences, someone has metastasized, someone has recurred after 15 years." This fear is with us all the time. That's why ruling out that element, adding an element of guarantee, and this treatment gives just that, that this recurrence may not happen, is extremely important. These are key decisions.