Zhu Gang, chief urologist and surgeon in Beijing United Family Hospital Photo: Courtesy of BJU

There is no strangeness for people to talk about cancer, but they still feel scared about this disease. The 28th National Cancer Prevention Awareness Week fell from April 15 to 21, and the theme of this year's event is "Integration of resources and scientific of prevention cancer". The event is focused on scientific delivery, fair and accurate anti-cancer science knowledge to the public. 

"Cancer is a disease of the elderly. With the improvement of people's quality of life and social medical security, they will live longer and longer, and may encounter the risk of cancer in their lifetime," Zhu Gang, the chief urologist and surgeon in Beijing United Family Hospital (BJU), said.
 
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), which defines cancer as a chronic disease, cancer is similar to diabetes or heart disease. Therefore, proving people need to increase their understanding of the disease, and not panic, he added.

"Now, especially with the development of medicine and science, people can get good treatment for many diseases, so early detection and treatment are particularly important," Zhu and Derek O'Reilly said. Derek is the deputy chair of the surgery Department at BJU. Whether it is the Chinese Cancer Prevention Association or some international organizations' recommendations, early diagnosis and early treatment are key. It is also the most important point for the prevention and treatment of cancer, Zhu said. He suggested that people should have a medical test, as regular testing allows us to detect symptoms at an early stage, which increases the chance of cure and obtaining the best treatment. 

Gu Yanfei, deputy medical director from United Family New Hope Oncology Center Photo: Courtesy of BJU

According to a report from the WHO, one-third of cancer is preventable and can be cured through early detection, such as the cervical, thyroid, breast, lung, gastric, colon, rectal and kidney cancer. "Lung cancer is the major cause of cancer mortality, primarily because of exposure to cigarette smoke. Occupational and environmental carcinogens increase the risk of lung cancer. Even lung cancer, which is the major cause of cancer mortality, is preventable and curable at the early stage," Gu Yanfei, deputy medical director, United Family New Hope Oncology Center said. Therefore, it is recommended that everyone ensure they keep a balanced diet, eat more vegetables to supplement vitamins needs, and quit smoking. Smoking is not good for the body, and also causes lung cancer and kidney cancer, Zhu said. In addition, people should strengthen exercise and control their weight. Obesity and being overweight are risk factors for developing different cancers, such as cancers of the liver, breast and ovaries. So people can do something about reducing their risk by increasing their physical activity, according to Derek.

In addition to these cancers, a bacteria called Helicobacter pylori is listed as a first-class carcinogen by the WHO, and is a key factor leading to stomach cancer. Once people have been diagnosed with this bacteria, there are simple and acceptable ways of treatment, called a 'quadruple therapy' that involves antibiotics and drugs to reduce the amount of acid in the stomach and these are effective at eradicating pylori. 

Cancer is a type of tumor, so surgical resection is very important. The application of "new technology" in surgery in BJU in tumor treatment has always been at the forefront of international medicine.

For example, holographic imaging technology was introduced in 2017, which is a new type of human organ imaging technology. It can fuse holographic images with real-time surgical images during surgery. Its color images can show a relationship between tumors and surrounding tissue structures. The more clearly displayed, the better communication with the patient can be made before the operation, meaning operations can be more targeted.

In this year's cancer prevention awareness week, BJU will hold various activities, such as online and offline science lectures, oncology series science video dissemination, thyroid cancer is explained in the form of comic popular science and oncologist series of popular science posters, Zhu said.