By KYIV. Nov 22 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukrainians do not realize the need for prevention and timely diagnosis of prostate cancer, despite the fact that in the early stages of the disease, prostate cancer in Ukraine is curable in 100% of cases, Eduard Stakhovsky, Chairman of the Association of Oncourologists of Ukraine, has said.
“In Ukraine, the problem is that patients do not realize the need for prevention and modern diagnosis of prostate cancer: about 48% of patients with cancer die, while about 15% die in the same year when prostate cancer was diagnosed. These are quite serious numbers. In civilized progressive countries, the figures are much lower,” he said at a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine.
Stakhovsky said that in Ukraine, late stages of prostate cancer are usually diagnosed, which account for about 60% of established cases.
“Some 60% are late stages, where there is no longer a question of treating the patient, but only of simply prolonging his life, and this is quite expensive and ineffective for the patient. At the same time, in the early stages of the disease, we can cure prostate cancer in 100% of cases,” he said.
Stakhovsky clarified that the Assosiation of Oncologists of Ukraine recommends starting screening diagnostics of prostate cancer, according to international recommendations, from 45 years of age.
Commenting on the possibilities of treating this disease in Ukraine and abroad, the expert emphasized that “to a certain extent, treatment in Ukraine is better, since the patient can be operated on within three-four weeks after diagnosis, whereas in European countries this time is much longer.”
“This is a real problem, because many patients who are abroad today call and say that… the operation is planned only in six months, so they are ready to come (to Ukraine) for the operation,” he said.
At the same time, he noted that in Ukraine there is a problem with drug treatment, since generic drugs often enter the country, and their effectiveness does not always correspond to the original drugs.
In turn, the head of the medical department of Bayer Ukraine, Maria Zymovets, noted that Ukrainian patients and doctors took part in clinical trials of oncological drugs for the treatment of prostate cancer.
“The latest developments have not yet been registered in Ukraine, but if our efforts are aimed at continuing research, then very soon our patients will have more choice, have access to new drugs and have a better chance of being cured,” she said.
Partner and senior economist at the Ukraine Economic Outlook research center, Hryhoriy Kukuruza, noted that according to research conducted by this center, in recent years, by increasing the level of examinations, it was possible to increase the number of identified cases of the disease.
