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Treatments for cancers

Cancer kills about 150,000 people in the UK every year. However, the number of people surviving cancer is increasing steadily. Indeed, advances in medicines and treatments mean that many cancers can be cured successfully.

The graph below shows the percentage of patients who are free from cancer five years after first being diagnosed as having the disease. With all cancers, the earlier that they are found and treated, the better the chance of survival.

Picture 17. A mammogram revealing a breast cancer (the white stringy mass).

Lung cancer

Lung cancer, probably caused by smoking, is one of the most common cancers in the United Kingdom. Unfortunately it is also one of the hardest to treat successfully. About 33,000 people will die each year from lung cancer in the UK.

Picture 18. UK cancer survival rates

Breast cancer

Annually, around 40,000 women are diagnosed as having breast cancer in the UK. However, modern treatments mean that there is nearly an 80% chance of being cured.

Picture 19. A mole. The good news is that this one is not malignant.

Early diagnosis

Finding out if a person has cancer is the first part of the treatment. Doctors call this the diagnosis and it is possible to have regular check-ups for some types of cancer. An early diagnosis helps to get the treatment started as soon as possible and this increases the chance of a successful cure.

Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in the UK but early diagnosis means there is a good chance of being cured. Doctors recommend that women over the age of 50 have a breast x-ray, or mammogram, every 3 years. Younger women are also at risk and are strongly advised to frequently and regularly check their breasts for lumps or changes in the breast. These self tests can detect cancer before it spreads and possibly save a life.

It is easy to think of breast cancer as a disease of older women. However, it can and does happen to teenage girls and young women. Breast cancer is rare in women under the age of 30 and many lumps in the breast are not cancerous but should still be checked by a doctor. Breast cancer can even happen in men but it is very rare.

Testicular cancer is most common in men aged between 15 and 44. Around 2,000 cases are diagnosed each year in the UK and treatments are very successful. Regular self-examinations should be performed to looks for painless lumps or unusual enlargement testicles. If any signs are detected, they should be checked out by a doctor.

Cervical smears are recommended every 3-5 years for women aged 25 to 65. These smears take a small sample of cells from the cervix and they are examined for signs of pre-cancerous changes.

Still serious

With an increasing understanding of their causes and cures, some cancers are becoming more survivable.

Picture 20. Death rates from different cancers:
green bars = men; red bars = women.
Compare the graphs for: 1971 1981 1991 1999

Nevertheless, cancer is still a serious disease. It accounts for a quarter of all deaths in the UK and in the year 2000, there were 270,000 new cases of cancer registered.

Having said that, this is partly because people are living longer and tend to contract cancer in their old age.

Picture 20 shows that while death rates are improving, they are still high.

Question 8

Look at the graph in picture 18 and then answer the questions.

a) Name the cancer that has the worst survival rate?

b) Name the cancer that has the best survival rate.

c) What is the five-year survival rate for cancer of the cervix?

d) Breast, testicular and skin cancers have good survival rates. Suggest why this may be the case.