Patients fear facial damage and difficulty eating! There has been no new drug available for head and neck cancer for ten years. Doctors reveal that "this treatment" may break the dilemma
Is head and neck cancer the killer of middle-aged men? The number of patients increases by more than 10,000 every year, and treatment requires attention from all walks of life
The incidence rate of head and neck cancer in Taiwan is much higher than that in many countries, and it is also a health killer for middle-aged and middle-aged men in Taiwan. According to statistics from the 2019 Cancer Registration Report, the incidence rate of head and neck cancer ranks third among male cancers; the mortality rate ranks fourth among male cancers. In the past five years, the number of new cases has been rising, and nearly 10,000 people are diagnosed every year.
Zhu Benyuan, chairman of the Taiwan Head and Neck Oncology Society, and Yang Muhua, vice president of National Yang-Ming University, said that head and neck cancer patients are mostly middle-aged men from the working class. In addition to the heavy medical expenses after cancer, facial defects and loss caused by surgical treatment Difficulties in voice or eating, etc., may become obstacles to returning to the workplace, or even lead to separation of the wife and children.
Chairman Zhu Benyuan pointed out that compared with other cancers, before the emergence of immunotherapy, head and neck cancer had no new drugs for ten years and treatments were limited. Until last year, the US cancer treatment guidelines included immunotherapy as a priority recommended treatment for advanced head and neck cancer. However, because Taiwan’s health insurance has not yet aligned with international standards, many patients may not be able to afford the high medical expenses.
Breaking the ten-year dilemma of no new drugs! “This therapy” becomes a new treatment option for head and neck cancer
Head and neck cancer is less discussed than other cancers, but the potential threat is high. Chairman Zhu Benyuan explained that up to about 60% of patients are diagnosed at an advanced stage. Compared with other cancers, the incidence of head and neck cancer is lower in European and American countries, so the treatment development process is slow and there are even fewer treatment options. Fortunately, good news came last year, and “immunotherapy” became a new treatment option for head and neck cancer.
However, even if good treatments are available, whether they are able to use them is a dilemma for clinicians and patients. Vice President Yang Muhua said that although immunotherapy has become a new tool in the treatment of head and neck cancer, and the US cancer treatment guidelines have listed new immunotherapy drugs as priority recommended treatments for patients with metastatic or recurrent cancer, Taiwan’s health insurance regulations require patients to fail first-line chemotherapy. Only then can it be used in the second line of intervention.
Vice President Yang Muhua pointed out that because head and neck cancer usually occurs in middle-aged and blue-collar workers, they often shoulder the financial support of the family. Once the disease develops, it may have a huge impact on the family. In addition, in the absence of health insurance benefits, out-of-pocket use is a heavy burden on individuals, physically, mentally, financially, and on their families, and patients may be in the dilemma of “seeing it but not using it” when it comes to treatment.
After half a year of radiotherapy, his wife and son separated. Experts hope that all walks of life will pay attention to the voices of head and neck cancer patients.
If immunotherapy is used early, the patient’s fate may be completely different? Yang Zhengjie, Chairman of the Head and Neck Care Association, gave an example of a patient, Mr. Xie: Mr. Xie was diagnosed with stage II oral cancer in 2012 and began to receive dozens of treatments including surgery, radiotherapy, and electrotherapy. Due to the treatment, he could only eat pureed food. of sequelae. Many years later, the oral cancer recurred again. After multiple surgeries, his face was no longer complete. The cancer cells even metastasized to the lungs, nasopharynx, tongue and other parts of the body.
Mr. Xie said that the changes in appearance caused by the treatment, the inability to speak and eat normally, and the repeated trips in and out of the hospital, etc., have made it impossible for him to work as a tour bus driver, which he originally loved, and he has also lost his relatives, friends, and significant other. He lamented that if he had not initially been deterred by the high cost of new immune drugs and had used them earlier, the outcome might have been different now.
Chairman Yang Zhengjie said that many patients with head and neck cancer are facing similar financial concerns, or are experiencing changes in appearance after treatment, losing their voice, being unable to eat normally, or even losing the courage to return to society. Therefore, compared with other cancer types, patients with head and neck cancer take fewer actions and have lower voices to speak out for their own treatment rights. Therefore, we call on relevant units and the public to continue to pay attention to the voices of head and neck cancer patients, and hope that relevant drugs can be included in health insurance and improve patients’ lives.
Further reading:
