• Vol. 48 No. 2, 45–47
  • 15 February 2019

Cancer in 2019 – Progress and Challenges – A Perspective

Patients with cancer today are doing better than they ever have been in the past. Survival rates are higher; and survival time is longer for most cancers. The drugs and treatment are getting more effective with less toxicity. Supportive care is also getting better. So, patients are not just surviving longer but also living better with good quality of life. Through effective preventive measures and screening programmes, some cancers have even seen a reduction in incidence (for example, smoking-related lung cancer and hepatitis-related hepatocellular carcinoma). Indeed, cancer is no longer a death sentence for most, and some declare that it is the new chronic disease.

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