Zuo Hui is worth hundreds of billions, why can't he cure a cancer? Is cancer really incurable?
Zuo Hui, the founder of Shell, once ranked eighth on China's richest list with a worth of 222 billion, and became the richest man in real estate.
However, at the age of 50, he died of lung cancer. After being diagnosed with lung cancer in September 2013, Zuo Hui went to the United States for treatment and removed one-third of his lungs, with a total of 7 years of survival.
Why is so rich, but still can't cure a cancer?
1. Why is cancer difficult to treat?
According to statistics from the International Agency for Research on Cancer, there will be 19.29 million new cancer patients in the world in 2020, and many people will die from cancer, including 710,000 lung cancers, 390,000 liver cancers, 370,000 gastric cancers, and 300,000 esophageal cancers. People, 290,000 people with bowel cancer and so on.
Cancer cells grow rapidly, and there will be metastasis and recurrence. It is difficult to detect in the early stage, and the progression of the disease is difficult to control. It also has strong mutation ability and adaptability, and will also develop resistance to therapy.
Moreover, many people's current understanding of cancer is not comprehensive. About 30% of cancer patients do not know the reason why they are targeted by cancer, and they cannot even find the cause of cancer gene mutation in the body.
These are all reasons why cancer is so difficult to treat. However, cancer does not necessarily mean terminal illness.
With the development and progress of medical technology, the treatment methods of cancer are constantly improving , and the mortality rate of many cancers has dropped significantly.
The main methods of cancer treatment include surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. The accuracy of surgery is higher, and the radiotherapy equipment is constantly updated to improve the accuracy of fighting cancer cells. Good progress has also been made in drug treatment, and the treatment methods are becoming more and more mature.
However, Zhan Qimin, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and dean of the International Institute for Cancer Research at Peking University, pointed out that early screening and early diagnosis are fundamental to improve the survival rate when dealing with tumors . Tumors such as lung cancer, bowel cancer, breast cancer, stomach cancer, etc., if they can be detected in an early stage and treated in a timely manner, the five-year survival rate can reach 90%, but if the tumor develops to an advanced stage or even metastasizes, the cure rate will be will drop significantly.
How long can you live after getting cancer?
Everyone is at risk of developing cancer. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) released the "Global Cancer Report" in 2018, stating that, excluding other objective factors and competing causes of death, the cumulative risk of cancer before the age of 75 was 21.4% .
How long you live with cancer depends on many factors, not just money.
Generally speaking, cancers with a low degree of malignancy and slow development generally have a relatively high five-year survival rate, while cancers with a high degree of malignancy, such as pancreatic cancer, have a very low five-year survival rate.
The stage of the cancer at the time of diagnosis is also related to the length of the patient's survival . Usually, early-stage patients have a relatively longer survival time than middle-late patients.
Cancer types that are sensitive to treatment methods , such as malignant lymphomas, leukemias, etc., may also be cured by radical chemotherapy. In addition to these, having the confidence and determination to face cancer head-on is also crucial.
3. How many signals do you know that cancer is coming to your door?
Everyone may be found by cancer. This is just a matter of probability. Who does cancer prefer to find?
The first is mainly the middle-aged and the elderly . The occurrence of cancer is a slow process, and the accumulation of age increases the probability of cancer occurrence.
Some cancers are caused by themselves. Those who have long-term bad habits , such as smoking, drinking, not exercising, and eating all kinds of fried, grilled, pickled foods and so on. In addition, people who are often exposed to carcinogens and have a family history of cancer are more likely to be targeted by cancer.
In short, cancer is a probabilistic event, and if we can develop good habits, we can reduce this probability.
For some high-incidence cancers, we must be vigilant and take a look at some of the symptoms of each cancer that need attention. Be aware of these symptoms, and seek medical attention as soon as possible if these symptoms occur in high-risk groups.
Lung cancer: Most lung cancer patients do not have obvious symptoms in the early stage, but in the middle and late stages, symptoms such as chest pain, irritating dry cough, cough, hemoptysis, shortness of breath, and fever may occur.
Gastric cancer: More than 70% of gastric cancer patients have no typical symptoms in the early stage, but as the disease progresses, symptoms such as loss of appetite, upper abdominal pain, acid regurgitation, and belching may occur.
Liver cancer: Liver cancer has the title of the king of cancer. Most patients are in the middle and late stages when they go to the doctor. They have symptoms such as poor appetite, liver pain, abnormal weight loss, jaundice, and abdominal mass .
Breast cancer : It has a high incidence in women, and the more common symptoms are breast lumps on one breast, nipple changes, breast pain, and swollen axillary lymph nodes .
Esophageal cancer: As the cancer cells progress, symptoms such as a choking sensation on swallowing, a foreign body sensation, and retrosternal discomfort may occur.
Colorectal cancer: Many people will be confused with hemorrhoids. As the disease progresses , symptoms such as abdominal pain, bloody stools, changes in bowel habits, and abnormal weight loss will appear .
Pancreatic cancer : Most patients have no obvious symptoms in the early stage of the disease . Please be vigilant if symptoms such as epigastric pain, jaundice, and weight loss occur.
Leukemia: As a malignant tumor in the blood, unexplained weight loss, fever, anemia, purpura, muscle pain, bleeding gums, swollen lymph nodes and other symptoms may occur with the development of the disease .
In response to cancer, early diagnosis and early treatment can greatly improve the survival rate. Different cancer types, stages, mentality, etc., the survival time of patients is also different. It is not necessarily a terminal illness if you have cancer. Some cancers can also be cured by active treatment. , But usually you must understand some symptoms of high incidence of cancer. Once they appear, you must seek medical attention as soon as possible.
References:
[1] Can cancer be cured at an advanced stage? .Medical Cancer Association.2022-03-31
[2] Cancer prevention, act early! Academicians and experts tell you 8 truths about cancer prevention. Health Times. 2022-04-18
[3] What kind of cancer patients live long and well? These points are very important. Health Times. 2021-06-22
[4] Some people can live to be 100 years old by smoking, but some people get cancer when they are healthy? Don't make a fuss! After reading this article, you may understand... Health Times. 2021-06-02
[5] What are the signs of each of the "Top Ten Cancers"? How to check? .pineapple factor.2021-02-23
Reproduction is prohibited without the author's permission