In September 2018, Li Zongwei, a player from the Malaysian men's badminton team, was diagnosed with nasopharyngeal cancer, which caused a heated discussion, and many people felt sorry for him at the time, thinking that he would bid farewell to the field.
But only a few months later, he successfully fought cancer at a shocking speed and announced his comeback.
In an interview, Li Zongwei said that he spent about 9.24 million yuan on his treatment and received a total of 33 proton therapy. After more than 2 months, after examination, the nasopharyngeal cancer lesions on the body have all been eliminated and all recovered.
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Seeing this, I believe that many people will be "stunned" by the cost of treatment, and they are also curious about what proton therapy is an "anti-cancer weapon". Today, Xiaojiu will give you a boost in knowledge.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="6" > proton therapy that can "kill" cancer cells</h1>
In 2015, Shanghai Proton Heavy Ion Hospital, the first proton therapy hospital in China, was officially opened, opening the curtain on the field of proton therapy in China. Jiang Guoliang, the promoter of this technology, introduced that proton therapy is currently the most advanced tumor radiotherapy method, which has more obvious advantages in radiation physics and biology than ordinary radiotherapy.
What is the anti-cancer effect of radiation therapy? Gao Xianshu, administrative director of the Radiotherapy Department of Peking University First Hospital, said that in theory, as long as the dose of radiation is large enough, the cancer cells cannot escape.
However, when ordinary radiotherapy passes through human tissues and reaches the tumor lesion, the dose will not only gradually decay, but also lose the normal tissue around it, bringing about a variety of toxic side effects. Proton therapy can avoid this very well, it has the characteristics of "stereotactic blasting", the energy is accurately released to the tumor site, so that the lesion receives the maximum dose, and because it is more targeted, it can avoid the spread of the surrounding normal tissue as much as possible, greatly reducing toxic side effects.
It can be seen that proton therapy is a relatively "excellent" advanced anti-cancer method.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="40" >2. Is proton therapy really worth 10 million? </h1>
Although proton therapy is good, how many patients like Li Zongwei can spend nearly 10 million yuan?
In this regard, Professor Chen Ming, executive vice president of Zhejiang Cancer Hospital, said that the cost of proton therapy is not as exaggerated as everyone says. Under normal circumstances, a routine radiotherapy course costs about 270,000 yuan in China, while the cost of proton therapy will be relatively high, but it is also in hundreds of thousands of yuan, not as expensive as imagined.
Professor Chen Ming also reminded that proton therapy, as a local treatment for cancer, although it can play a good therapeutic effect, especially for tumors that are not sensitive to traditional radiotherapy, can improve the efficacy. However, it also has certain indications and is not suitable for all cancer patients, especially cancer patients with multiple tumor lesions and too large a range. Surgery is still the basic means of curing cancer.
In addition to being limited by the cost of treatment, the popularity of proton therapy is also related to its indications. At present, the scope of adaptation of proton therapy is as follows:
Brain cancer: can be targeted radiation dose, more targeted, very suitable for the treatment of fine structure, important function of the brain system diseases, can reduce normal tissue damage, improve the quality of life of patients.
Prostate cancer: This is currently the most used type of cancer in proton therapy with fewer side effects.
Head and neck cancer: such as nasopharyngeal cancer, paranasal sinus cancer, etc.
Pediatric tumors: Patients are in a developmental phase, and the low-side effect advantage of proton therapy is obvious considering future growth and development.
Other tumors: At present, it has gradually been applied to liver cancer, lung cancer, melanoma and other cancers.
Proton therapy is not a panacea, can not be applied to all cancers, whether it is suitable or not, it depends on the specific situation.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="41" > third, nasopharyngeal cancer is difficult to prevent, early detection is the key</h1>
The incidence of nasopharyngeal cancer in South China and Southeast Asia is relatively high, and the new cases in China account for about half of the world. Therefore, we should be vigilant, especially high-risk groups, pay attention to screening, and strive for early detection and diagnosis and treatment.
To prevent nasopharyngeal cancer, try to do these four things:
1. Reduce contact with chemical carcinogens, such as amines of nitrite, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, etc., such as due to work needs, it is necessary to do a good job of protection, wear masks and gloves, etc.
2, eat more fresh vegetables and fruits, these foods are rich in vitamins A, C, E and other substances, can play an antioxidant, anti-epithelial hyperplasia and other effects, to prevent nasopharyngeal cancer.
3. High-risk groups attach importance to screening
People with a family history of nasopharyngeal cancer, long-term smoking or second-hand smoke environment, infection with Epstein-Barr virus, and living in areas with a high incidence of nasopharyngeal cancer (such as Guangdong, Fujian and other places) are all at high risk of nasopharyngeal cancer, and it is recommended to conduct regular serological examinations, CT, magnetic resonance or nasopharyngeal mirrors to screen for nasopharyngeal cancer.
4. Be wary of early symptoms
Chen Pei, chief physician of the Department of Otolaryngology of Wuhan First Hospital, reminded that nasopharyngeal cancer is a kind of "cunning" cancer, due to the location of the hidden, it is not easy to find in the early stage, if there is a persistent headache, nasal discharge with blood, nasal congestion, tinnitus and ear muffles and hearing loss, dysphagia and other symptoms, and the duration exceeds 2 weeks, then it is necessary to be highly vigilant against nasopharyngeal cancer, seek medical treatment in time, so as not to miss the best treatment time. Most of these symptoms are caused by the lump invading the surrounding tissues.
All in all, proton therapy has a good therapeutic effect on nasopharyngeal cancer, but it is not suitable for all cancers, and how cancer patients should be treated varies from person to person. For nasopharyngeal cancer, it is recommended that high-risk groups should pay attention to screening and other work.
#谣零零计划 #
Resources:
[1] Let Li Zongwei's proton therapy for cancer rehabilitation, learn about it?.China News Weekly.2019-02-1
[2] 33 proton therapy costs nearly $10 million? Li Zongwei came back to say that cancer cells are completely eliminated! Where is the magic of this treatment? What cancers apply?.City Express. 2019-03-15
[3] Anti-cancer power, Li Zongwei returned to training after receiving proton therapy! The mysteries of this high-end therapy are all in this. Popular Science China.2019-02-23
[4] Be wary of these symptoms and identify signs of NASOPHARY early. Human Health.2021-06-17
[5] There are 7 signs of early nasopharyngeal cancer, did you know?.Health Journal.2020-08-31
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