You can't go to the hospital, donate blood and be sure there's no cancer: an oncologist talks about the importance of early diagnosis of cancer

Early diagnosis of cancer can be a decisive factor for successful treatment, especially when detected in the early stages. Oncologist Andriy Gardashnikov told in an exclusive commentary to UNN.

"Screening is the examination of healthy people without complaints, from certain risk groups for certain diseases, in oncology - for tumors... If we are talking about screening, which is in the recommendations and which has evidence of effectiveness, for example, for breast cancer, mammography - at a certain age women are given it, it is very important. The same is true for early diagnosis of cervical cancer, which is very important," emphasized Gardashnikov.

He emphasized that, unlike tumor marker tests, which patients often administer to themselves and which are not indicative or truthful without a doctor's prescription, screening is an effective method for assessing health.

"People here, for example, like to come and order tumor markers - let me take tests for all types of cancer to know... unfortunately, these tumor marker tests are usually not that reliable, and they must be prescribed by a doctor. That is, you can't go to a hospital, order a set of laboratory tests, and just donate blood and be sure that you are cancer-free. It doesn't work that way," emphasized Gardashnikov.

The oncologist emphasized that in case of early diagnosis of the disease, treatment becomes much more effective and affordable. "Unfortunately, we don't have a test that would guarantee early detection (of cancer - ed.), and it is also very important to discuss this so that there is no misunderstanding among those people who fail to detect these diseases at early stages. This is not always the patient's fault, not always. But if we do manage to detect cancer at an early stage, then statistically, treatment at an early stage is more effective, remission is much more common, long-term remissions are much more common, which means they allow people to live, and treatment is more often available," he explained.

Gardashnikov cited the treatment of metastatic cancer as an example. According to him, it is expensive, and usually modern treatments, such as immunotherapy, are not covered by the state. According to the doctor, treatment of the early stages of various malignancies is often more affordable.

Regarding screening programs, Gardashnikov noted that some of them are funded by the state and are available to patients free of charge. "It seems to me that either the majority or even everything that is included in screening can be implemented at the expense of the state. Even when we talk about lung cancer screening and CT scans, it is also possible. The only thing is that it cannot be done quickly. It is unlikely that a patient will come and say that I want a CT scan with screening and be told to come back tomorrow and we will do it. Most likely, it will be scheduled, through an electronic referral, in weeks or months, but in terms of screening, this is usually not an urgent story, so you can wait," the oncologist said.

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One example of how the state cares about the health of its citizens is a program that is in place for residents of the Brovary territorial community. The local authorities introduced the program "With Care for Everyone" for 2024-2026, which aims to provide social protection and medical support to the most vulnerable segments of the population.

In , the program provides regular diagnostics for the early detection of cancer. In particular, the following examinations are available to community members:

• cervical cancer cytology screening (liquid Pap test) and HPV testing for women over 21 years of age;

• Breast and ovarian cancer screening for women aged 30 and older;

• screening for thyroid cancer by a doctor's referral;

• urological screening for the diagnosis of prostate cancer for men over 35 years of age.

Citizens of Ukraine who are registered and live in the Brovary community can undergo these examinations free of charge once a year.

In addition, the Brovary community has several other  important medical programsaimed at supporting the health of the community, in particular, the privileged categories of the population. Ihor Kravtsov, director of the Brovary City Primary Health Care Center, told UNN in an exclusive commentary that one of the key programs is to provide privileged categories of the population, including internally displaced persons (IDPs), with free medicines and medical supplies.

In addition, the local authorities of Brovary allocate significant funds to support cancer patients living in the community. The hospital provides them with free chemotherapy drugs, which are expensive because all the components are foreign-made.

Brovary Mayor Ihor Sapozhko, in an exclusive commentary to UNN, emphasized that such programs are important for the health and well-being of the community. He added that the city authorities will continue to support these initiatives despite the limited budget.

"We understand how important these programs are for our citizens, especially for those who need constant medical support. The programs of free medicines, support for cancer patients and cancer prevention are vital initiatives, and we are doing our best to maintain them even in difficult conditions. Taking care of the health of our community remains our priority," said Sapozhko.