Some people die in less than half a year while others live long. What did those cancer patients who live long do right?

Health Times Photographed by Dong Yingyu

　　1. Regular physical examinations to detect cancer early

　　Zeng Weigen, attending physician of the General Surgery Department of Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, published an article on his WeChat public account in 2019, saying that no matter what kind of cancer it is, as long as it is discovered early, it can get a good treatment effect. For example, early gastric cancer, breast cancer, colorectal cancer, lung cancer and other cancers, as long as they are discovered early, can survive for a long time, and the cure rate can exceed 90%.

　　Because in the early stage of cancer, the tumor is only localized, has not spread, and has not metastasized to other parts of the body, it only needs to be surgically removed to achieve a better treatment effect. Moreover, early cancer does not require radiotherapy and chemotherapy, so patients suffer less, spend less money, and can also achieve good treatment results. ①

　　Therefore, early screening is particularly important! The "Recommendations for Screening and Prevention of Common Malignant Tumors in Residents" (2022 edition) lists the "recommended cancer screening schedule" for different age groups for men and women. ②

　　1. Recommended age group for cancer screening in women

　　21-29 years old: Use cervical cytology to check for cervical cancer. After 3 consecutive years of no abnormalities, once every 3 years.

　　Starting at 25 years old: It is recommended to have a clinical breast examination every 1-3 years to find out whether there is breast cancer.

　　30-39 years old: It is recommended to have a clinical breast examination every 1-3 years; use cervical cytology to check, once every 3 years after 3 consecutive years without abnormalities; perform a low-dose spiral CT at the age of 30.

　　40-49 years old: Clinical breast examination once a year, mammography once every 1-2 years; use cervical cytology to check, once every 3 years after 3 consecutive years without abnormalities.

　　Starting at 45 years old: Fecal occult blood once a year, colonoscopy once every 10 years.

　　50 years and above: occult blood test once a year, colonoscopy once every 10 years. Clinical breast examination once a year, mammography once every 1-2 years; cervical cytology examination, after 3 consecutive years without abnormality, once every 3 years, cervical cancer screening ends at age 65 and if multiple previous examinations are negative. Gastroscopy examination every 5-10 years starting at age 50.

　　75 years and above: People in good health can continue to maintain screening. Screening after age 85 is not recommended.

　　2. Recommended age group for male cancer screening

　　30 years: 1 low-dose spiral CT.

　　40-49 years: serum PSA, once every 2 years.

　　45 years and above: occult blood test once a year, colonoscopy once every 10 years.

　　50-74 years old: serum PSA, once every 2 years; stool occult blood once a year, colonoscopy once every 10 years; gastroscopy once every 5-10 years.

　　75 years old and above: People in good health can continue to maintain screening. Screening after 85 years old is not recommended.

　　But it should be noted that the above screening recommendations are for people with general risks. If you have one or more high-risk risks, especially those at high risk of related tumors, you need to respect the advice of professional doctors for more targeted cancer prevention screening.

　　2. Actively cooperate with doctors for standardized diagnosis and treatment

　　If you have cancer, how can you live longer?

　　Pan Zhanhe, deputy chief physician of the Department of Oncology, Zhongshan Hospital Affiliated to Xiamen University, published an article on his WeChat official account in 2022 to remind that once cancer has been diagnosed, the most important thing next is to standardize treatment. This is the most important factor in determining whether there will be a recurrence in the future, and it can also be said to be the most decisive factor in preventing recurrence.

　　Correct treatment decisions and standardized treatment execution are the most important measures to reduce the risk of recurrence, while non-standard treatment is an important cause of future recurrence.

　　During treatment, it is most important to cooperate with the treatment, treat according to the standard, and do the best to eliminate cancer cells. For example, for early cancer surgery, the surgery must be standardized first; if neoadjuvant chemotherapy and radiotherapy are required before surgery, it must be standardized; if adjuvant therapy is required after surgery (chemotherapy, radiotherapy, targeted therapy, etc., different cancers have different requirements), it must also be standardized. ③

　　3. Follow-up on time and follow up regularly

　　Dr. Pan Zhanhe emphasized that regular follow-up and reexamination should accompany life and should not be forgotten. Normal people who do not have cancer have to have a physical examination once a year, let alone people who have had cancer. All cancer patients must have regular follow-up and reexamination.

　　1. What is the purpose of follow-up and reexamination?

　　The most important purpose of follow-up and reexamination is to detect possible recurrence as early as possible (including local recurrence or distant metastasis). Early detection of recurrence can intervene as early as possible and achieve the best results. Don't take it lightly with a fluke mentality.

　　People who have had cancer do not pay attention to follow-up and reexamination, just like people who have not had cancer do not pay attention to screening and physical examination. Once the disease is discovered, it is in the late stage and the best time for diagnosis and treatment is lost.

　　Through follow-up and reexamination, the medium- and long-term toxic and side effects of previous treatment surgeries, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, etc. can also be monitored, and rehabilitation guidance can be provided. In addition, through follow-up, doctors and patients have the opportunity to communicate and interact, conduct health education, and encourage patients to change their unhealthy lifestyles.

　　2. How should follow-up be done?

　　Follow-up and reexamination should be determined by doctors based on different types of cancer, different stages, different risks of recurrence, and different patients.

　　In most cases, the follow-up and reexamination time interval after radical cancer treatment can be roughly based on the following time: once every 3 to 6 months for the first 2 to 3 years; once every six months from two to three years to 5 years; once a year after 5 years. But this is just a rough arrangement. Different cancers have different arrangements, and you should follow the doctor's arrangements.

　　If it is an incurable advanced cancer, after treatment, the body still has tumors, that is, patients who live with tumors, and the tumor grows again one day in the future, this cannot be called "tumor recurrence", but should be accurately called "tumor progression again". In this case, the treatment has never really ended, and the treatment is mostly temporary. The tumor will grow again sooner or later and need treatment intervention. Therefore, after the initial stage of treatment, it is necessary to strengthen follow-up and review to monitor the changes of the tumor, and the specific arrangements should follow the instructions of the doctor in charge. ④

　　4. learn lessons and stay away from carcinogenic factors

　　Unhealthy lifestyles always affect people's bodies. Many patients have planted seeds because of a bad living habit, which leads to cancer. For example, esophageal cancer is related to eating habits, and smoking is an important factor in lung cancer.

　　Therefore, changing an unhealthy lifestyle is also a "good prescription" to prevent recurrence! Quitting smoking and drinking in time, not eating junk food, eating a balanced and diversified diet, exercising in moderation, maintaining a suitable weight, staying up late less, etc., these are all commonplace topics.

　　If you can't even stick to a healthy lifestyle, how can you fight against tumors!

　　5. Positive attitude, good mood leads to a good body

　　Some patients collapse immediately after learning that they have cancer. No matter how good the doctor, the treatment plan, or the advanced medicine, they can't save a "dead heart" person.

　　He Yumin, a professor and tumor treatment expert at Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, published an article on his WeChat public account in 2022, saying that many cancer patients have bad results, usually not because of the natural deterioration of the disease, but because they are scared to death. Most of them feel that after getting sick, they are just living a miserable life. In addition, they believe that "cancer equals death" and "cancer is incurable". Therefore, many aspects of the patient's spirit, psychology, and emotions have become "cancer deterioration agents".

　　On the contrary, compared with these extremely cancer-phobic patients, those who don't know they have cancer and are always confused have surprisingly good clinical treatment results.

　　Building confidence in yourself and maintaining an optimistic mood is an important reason for defeating cancer. Professor He Yumin said that cancer patients should learn to nourish their hearts, live every day with an optimistic attitude, and face cancer treatment with a positive attitude. ⑤

　　This article is compiled from:

　　①2019-10-02 General Surgery Doctor Zeng "Can you only wait to die if you have cancer? Doctors say there are three types of people who can survive for a long time or even be completely cured"

　　②2022-04-15, 2022 edition of "Recommendations for screening and prevention of common malignant tumors in residents" Shanghai Anti-Cancer Association, Fudan University Affiliated Tumor Hospital

　　③2022-07-13 Tumor specialist "People who do not have cancer recurrence have 4 characteristics"

　　④2022-03-09 Tumor specialist "Three things must be done after cancer treatment"

　　⑤2022-11-08 He Yumin "Both are in the late stage of cancer, why can he be cured? "