Cuban westernmost province strengthens attention to lung cancer patients

PINAR DEL RIO, Cuba, Jan 22 (ACN) Lung cancer is the first cause of death in men and the second in women in Pinar del Rio, followed by breast cancer, hence the western territory has consolidated the timely detection and care of patients in health institutions.

About 80 % of the people who come to the Tercer Congreso Provincial Oncology Patient Care Center are older adults, which is why it has an oncogeriatric ward, said Liudmila Herrera Rodriguez, a specialist in Oncology and Internal Medicine and head of the functional unit of cardiothoracic tumors at the hospital.

A multidisciplinary team made up of oncologists, neumologists, radiologists and surgeons carries out weekly consultations at the Center for patients from all the municipalities, she said.

She highlighted the use in advanced stages of lung cancer of the therapeutic vaccines CIMAvax-EGF and Nimotuzumab, produced by the Center for Molecular Immunology and administered after chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatments.

Likewise, among the method options, personalized therapies are a standard in the world and consist of the application of internationally produced drugs orally.

At the Abel Santamaria Cuadrado provincial hospital, a pulmonary shadow consultation is dedicated to the care of patients with suspicious chest X-rays or symptoms of the pathology.

CT scans and bronchoscopies are performed there with the aim of diagnosing the disease in the shortest possible time, taking into account that 50% of the cases are detected in advanced stages.

Cough, chest pain, weight loss, swollen lymph nodes and shortness of breath are the main symptoms of the disease, with smoking standing out as the main cause.