Refugee treatment: Six patients from Ukraine with blood tumors are being treated in Prague
Lymphoma is a common name for several dozen cancers. The types differ in course, prognosis and treatment. Lymphatic involvement is characteristic nodules that are often enlarged but painless. The patient may not have any symptoms at first. Lymphoma can occur anywhere in the body. It is an oncological disease of one type of white blood cell, which form lymphatic tissue. It will manifest itself most often fatigue, weight loss, sweating, fever without infectious causes. Abdominal pain, shortness of breath or coughing may also occur. The disease has a genetic cause.
Care for patients with lymphoma is concentrated in the Czech Republic in specialized centers, of which there are eight for adults. There are two centers for children with a transplant unit and six without it.
Young refugees with blood tumors
As Blesk said I report to KLS chairman prof. Lectured by MUDr. Marek Trněný, CSc., Who is also the head of the 1st Department of Internal Medicine – Hematology of the General Hospital and the 1st Medical Faculty of Charles University in Prague, 6 refugees from Ukraine are currently being treated at the Prague clinic.
“We are in contact with the management of the Oncology Institute in Kiev as well as with an international patient organization. We declared readiness to take care of the sick who had to leave the country due to the war, “Said MUDr. Marek Trneny. “We expect to take over those who need it. We believe that part of the funds out of unprecedented solidarity with Ukraine, as well as a possible subsidy from the EU, should go to the cost of this care. ” Six patients arrived in Prague within three weeks.
“Three patients who are being treated here have Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a disease that occurs mainly in younger patients.. The youngest patient is 19 years old, the second women 39 years and the men 45 years. We don’t have any patients over the age of 70, as we see here, “explains Trněný. Two-thirds of all lymphomas are typical for older age, the typical patient with this disease is around 60 years of age.
The doctor said the patients arrived in the Czech Republic in good condition. “One patient started the first cycle of treatment, the other was just before the start of treatment. Their Ukrainian colleagues have planned their treatment so that I can sign it,“Trněný added.
Incomplete treatment can be a problem
The problem may occur when when the treatment for lymphomas is interrupted, which can happen in a state of war in Ukraine.
“In general, the principle of cancer treatment is that that you are trying to achieve what I call remission – ie the remission of the disease and we want to achieve complete remission, “said MUDr. Thorny. For each patient who achieved remission, but some “residual disease” persists, therefore, medical therapy can continue for another two years, for example, it is called maintenance therapy.
“When the initial therapy is not completed, often even that level of residual disease has not been reached, so these people are at high risk of their disease re-igniting“A good hematologist.”
According to him, hospitals are able to handle the treatment of Ukrainian refugees.
The majority of patients according to the head physician of the lymphoma group of the Internal Hematology and Oncology University Hospital Brno doc. Lectured by MUDr. Andrey Janíková, Ph.D., is yet to come to the Czech Republic. “We are ready to accept patients. It is our duty to take care of those who are fighting for us in Ukraine,“Comments the situation of doc. Janíková.
The number of patients with lymphoma has tripled in the Czech Republic
Number of patients with lymphoma or chronic lymphocytic leukemia has tripled in 30 years. There are now over 26,000 people living in the Czech Republic who have been or are being treated for lymphoma. Every year doctors don’t say more than 2,500 people, around 900 people succumb to the disease every year.
Doctors do not know the exact cause of the increase in the number of patientsAccording to them, lifestyle and the aging of the population play a role. “Two thirds of all lymphomas are typical of older age, so it is to some extent a tax on longevity,” said Andrea Janíková.
Thanks to modern drugs, mortality in people with lymphoma stagnates or decreases slightly. But doctors are complaining about the slow entry of new drugs into the market. According to David Belada from the 4th Department of Internal Hematology, University Hospital Hradec Králové, marketing by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) often takes a year or more.