MEDplus became an information partner of the social project «OncoProsvita» to fight cancer

In Ukraine, every fifth patient learns about his or her cancer diagnosis at the last stage. Every fourth patient does not survive even a year after diagnosis. This applies even to those types of cancer that can be detected without sophisticated equipment, such as skin or breast cancer. At the same time, from 30% to 50% of cancer diseases can be avoided if you lead a healthy lifestyle, the World Health Organization (WHO) notes.

That is why the NGO «Center for Effective Solutions» launched the project «OncoProsvita». This is an educational initiative created to reduce the mortality rate from cancer diseases by raising public awareness about prevention, diagnosis, and modern methods of cancer treatment.

«OncoProsvita — health begins with education» — this slogan united leading oncologists from different regions of Ukraine, patients in remission, and psycho-oncologists to help thousands of Ukrainians in the conditions of war and constant stress to learn how to monitor their health and prevent cancer.

As part of the project, experts created more than 20 informational videos on how and when to undergo preventive examinations, how to overcome psychological barriers before examinations, and how to prevent various types of cancer.

The project may be of interest not only to patients with cancer diagnoses and their families but also to a wide range of Ukrainians who care about their health.

The videos address the most common questions about oncology:

• How to prevent cancer? Cancer screening — prevention and early detection of cancer;
• Suspicion of cancer: what to do in the first stages?;
• Cancer. How to accept the diagnosis and beat the disease? The story of a recovered patient;
• Does cancer occur because of stress and resentment? Carcinophobia — how to get rid of the oncology-related fear? Psychosomatics of cancer;
• What are metastases, and how to treat them? Can metastases disappear? An oncologic surgeon tells us;
• Cancer: what affects the chances of recovery? Explained by an oncologic surgeon.

All videos can be viewed on the MEDplus YouTube channel.

The aim of the project is to develop a culture of undergoing preventive screenings and checkups to detect cancer at early stages, which contributes to more effective treatment and preservation of public health. Specifically:

• help overcome societal barriers to cancer prevention, diagnosis, and treatment;
• dispel myths and promote a healthy understanding of the disease;
• increase trust in the healthcare system;
• raise awareness of the preventive examinations and healthy lifestyle importance.

«Tumors in the early stages with small size rarely cause a patient to complain. In order for complaints of pain, constipation, or bleeding to appear, the tumor must grow to such a size that it begins to obstruct the passage of bodily fluids in the body. Only then clinical manifestations usually appear, but in such cases cancer treatment is much more difficult», — explained the project expert, oncosurgeon of Kharkiv Regional Oncology Center Anton Osokin.

«Early detection of the disease directly affects the prognosis of the cancer treatment effectiveness. And it is the patients’ area of responsibility. That is, all conditionally healthy people should be asymptomatic to undergo preventive examination. If we detect a small tumor — we can talk about full recovery from cancer», — said the project expert, medical director of ME «DOKOD» DOR» on inpatient care, doctor of the highest category, PhD Dmytro Savenkov.

In addition, as part of OncoProsvita, animated videos were created to debunk the most common myths about oncology. A series of video podcasts with a psycho-oncologist and people who have had cancer and are in remission have also been released, covering in detail the psychological aspects of cancer diseases.

The realization of «OncoProsvita» became possible due to the small grants competition «United Against Cancer», which was held by the INTERNATIONAL FOUNDATION FOR MEDICAL INNOVATIONS.

About the authors of the project:

«The Center for Effective Solutions» is a public organization that aims to create an informed approach to health and the environment to improve the quality of life. The organization creates programs and initiatives to raise awareness of citizens in the areas of health and surroundings, and provides practical tools for creating a healthy and friendly environment.