Fear of a diagnosis and belief in medical myths often prevent timely treatment. Kazakhstani oncologist Yerlan Kabdolov shared professional insights on the importance of early cancer detection... reports the website infohub.kz.
According to the doctor, chronic, untreated gastritis over years is one of the risk factors for stomach cancer.
"Stomach cancer at the first stage has a 90% survival rate. At the third stage, it's 30%. At the fourth, less than 10%. The stage decides everything," he emphasized.
Kabdolov says that patients often fear the diagnosis, considering it a death sentence. However, in most cases, early detection is, in the doctor's words, precisely the chance.
"What is dangerous is not the fact of visiting an oncologist, but that people postpone it for years," he stressed.
Risk persists for years
The oncologist also noted that smoking increases the risk of lung cancer. And if a person quits the harmful habit, the risk remains for a long time and only approaches normal after ten years.
As for melanoma, in the doctor's opinion, it can be recognized by changes in the shape, color, or size of a mole.
"But as a doctor, I want to give one piece of advice: before removing a mole anywhere, show it to an oncologist first. Melanoma can easily be mistaken for a benign growth. Unfortunately, such mistakes are not uncommon in beauty clinics," he explains.
Myths
The doctor also shared myths that worried patients tell him during appointments.
"'Biopsy spreads cancer throughout the body' is a myth I hear every week. Because of it, people postpone diagnostics for months. But while they fear the biopsy, the tumor grows for real," the oncologist emphasizes.
The doctor also noted that the most persistent myth in oncology is that cancer loves sweets.
"Cancer cells do use glucose for growth, but so do normal cells. Giving up sugar will not stop the tumor—that's a fabrication that only scares and distracts from real treatment," he explained.
Earlier, Kursiv reported that cancer mortality in Kazakhstan decreased by a quarter.