Madrid (EFE).- Half of the cancerous tumors diagnosed in Spain, between 45 and 50 percent, have to do with the lifestyle of the patients and are mainly related to tobacco use or obesity .
This was stated by Pedro Pérez Segura, head of the Oncology service of the San Carlos Hospital in Madrid, at a press conference together with the president of the Royal Academy of Medicine, Eduardo Díaz Rubio, in which they insisted on the need to have healthy lifestyle habits.
It is estimated that this year around 280,000 new cases of cancer will be detected in Spain, with a mortality of 40 percent, some 115,000 people, the most frequent being colon, breast, lung and prostate cancer.
Both doctors, coordinators of the “Revisions in Cancer Symposium” that will take place from February 8 to 10 in Madrid, recalled that it is possible to collaborate in a “very proactive” way to reduce tumors with good lifestyle habits.
“Tobacco is the greatest enemy of humanity”, stressed Díaz Rubio and warned that “it is not only responsible for lung cancer but also for many others”, for which he has asked smokers not to smoke trust.
For his part, Dr. Pérez Segura stressed that cancer cases are increasing every year, although he wanted to send a message of hope by pointing out that the survival and cure figures are also growing.
The importance of tests to detect tumors early
For this reason, he has insisted on the importance of going to the screening tests recommended by the health authorities to detect tumors at an early stage, after regretting that at least 40 percent of the people who should go for the tests do not go .
“Today every year we have advances that impact the survival of patients,” he stressed, before pointing out that diagnoses are early every day and that the percentage of people who are cured of their disease exceeds 50%.
Early diagnosis, the development of “therapeutic weapons” to treat patients and multidisciplinary work with teams from different specialties are the great advances that have occurred in the fight against cancer in recent years, according to Díaz Rubio.
Precisely all this will be discussed at the “XXV Cancer Reviews Symposium” which will bring together the leading oncologists in Spain for three days in Madrid to share and update their knowledge on the latest developments in cancer treatment.