Not just screening, mammograms and early diagnosis. “Breast cancer prevention must also take into account other aspects, which concern the setting up of a healthy lifestyle and, therefore, the need to exercise, not gain weight, keep fit, follow a varied diet“. Like this Philip de Braud, full professor at the University of Milan and Director of the Department of the Division of Medical Oncology and Hemato-Oncology at the National Cancer Institute, in an interview published on the Aleati per la Salute website (www.alleatiperlasalute.it), the portal dedicated to medical-scientific information created by Novartis, underlines the importance of breast cancer prevention between screening and adopting a healthy lifestyle.
So pay attention to feeding, but “without excessive rigidity – specifies de Braud – which risk triggering phenomena of sudden weight fluctuations negative for the metabolism. “The recommendation is to limit the consumption of junk food, excessive seasonings, very fatty and caloric foods and favor, for example, vegetables and steam cookinghowever, the watchword is balance, which must lead to adopting these indications regularly, learning to prepare food in a healthy way and, at the same time, without giving up the pleasure of eating. Indications that also apply to breast cancer patients, who have to cope with the difficulties that the disease entails and, consequently, the side effects of the therapies. Again, according to the oncologist it is important to “be regular, but also flexible”, thus adapting the diet to the specific needs of the moment and choosing, always as part of a healthy diet, the foods that make you feel better.
The aspect of the patient’s well-being is essential, within a picture of the pathology that has changed greatly in recent years. “5-year survival in women who have developed a cancer diagnosis – underlines de Braud – is above 60%, close to 65%, even in the advanced forms, so the vast majority live at least 5 years, and this is due, above all, to the continuous therapeutic innovation in breast cancer, which is the disease that has the greatest treatment options ever, compared to all the others ” . These improvements were particularly enjoyed by patients with advanced stage cancer, for whom the new treatments “have obtained results that we had never seen before – highlights the expert – more than 50% of these people have the possibility of being treated for years, before having to change treatment, which is what happens when someone has a chronic disease. “Thanks also to the study of genetic alterations, continues de Braud,” the future will hold even better results.
The chronicization process of advanced breast cancer involves a change of perspective and a new attention to the patient’s quality of life, which must include taking care of herself that goes beyond the aspect strictly related to treatments to involve the areas of nutrition, as already seen, but also the care of one’s appearance, personal fulfillment and the achievement of a renewed psychophysical balance. In confirmation of this, de Braud recalls that “people are treated, not diseases“, highlighting that within the therapeutic path everything that is part of the patient’s life, such as work, affections, moments of leisure and socialization, must be taken into account.” In this direction – concludes the oncologist – they act also information campaigns, which must have the aim of educating people to live better with their illness and with themselves“.
The project ‘It is time for life‘, promoted by Novartis Italia and created in collaboration with Salute Donna Onlus, intends to address women with advanced breast cancer with a message of trust that takes on different connotations in this new edition. On the one hand, in fact, after the delays caused by the pandemic, it is time to resume treatment, taking advantage of the new therapeutic options to gain years of life. On the other hand, the time obtained must be full, satisfactory and of quality. Among the various initiatives, a series of online lessons is offered, conducted by influencers and experts, to help patients, through recipes, yoga exercises and creative games, to spend daily moments of well-being.
The expert’s intervention is available on: https://www.alleatiperlasalute.it/benessere-donna/tumore-al-seno-la-persona-prima-di-tutto.
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