Durban — The National Cancer Survivors Day Foundation said all cancer survivors deserved a life with fewer complications and more celebration.
Yesterday was National Cancer Survivors Day which is always observed annually. The foundation said more people than ever were surviving cancer.
However, in spite of their growing numbers, cancer survivors often must contend with continuing physical, psychological, social, emotional and financial struggles.
It said cancer survivors may contend with limited access to specialists and promising new treatments, rapidly rising medical costs, denial of health and life insurance coverage, difficulty finding or keeping jobs, increased risk for developing second cancers and other health conditions and economic burdens because of mounting medical expenses, lost wages and reduced productivity.
In a statement, the foundation said physical, emotional and financial difficulties often persisted for years after cancer diagnosis and treatment. Further, for those for whom cancer becomes a chronic disease, these issues become lifelong challenges.
“That’s why the National Cancer Survivors Day Foundation believes we must continue to advocate for more resources, research and survivor-friendly legislation to improve the quality of life of cancer survivors – during and after cancer treatment,” said the foundation.
The foundation said this day was about celebrating life and raising awareness of the challenges of cancer survivorship.
Novartis, a Swiss pharmaceutical company, developed a drug called Kisqali, which is designed to interrupt the growth of cancer cells.
Dennis Slamon, of the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, said that this was the first and only drug to demonstrate a consistent, clinically meaningful benefit across a broad population of patients.
He added that the drug also showed more favourable outcomes in overall survival, recurrence-free survival and distant disease-free survival.
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