Can the body beat cancer. Cancer survivor: sickening when everyone says you'll get better

Hearing from the doctor a shocking diagnosis - "cancer", the patient falls into a real stupor and the only question he asks the doctor is: "Doctor, how long will I live?". At such a critical moment, a person does not ask if it is possible to defeat oncology or what to do to get rid of the tumor. He cares about only one question: "How much?".

Indeed, cancer has taught us that this disease is incurable, which means that all attempts to fight it are futile. And that is why the diagnosis of a doctor sounds like a sentence for many. But is it really so and is there any hope in the fight against an insidious oncological tumor?

Of course, in the fight against cancer, one can never be completely sure of success. Sometimes, the removed tumor delays the disappointing outcome for several months, in other cases it gives the body several years, and sometimes even allows you to live until old age, not remembering that the person once had cancer. And there are more and more cases of complete victory over oncology! Doctors in this case use the cautious term "remission", allowing for the potential for the disease to return after the end of the favorable period. Moreover, in the medical environment it is generally accepted that a patient who has lived 5 years after the removal of a malignant neoplasm has a high chance of a future life. Of course, a 5-year remission period does not at all guarantee that the patient will not die of cancer in the coming years, but this is a good sign that gives hope.

Currently, doctors distinguish several types of cancer, in the fight against which significant progress has been made, which means that they can actually defeat ailments. Let's get acquainted with them.

1. Prostate cancer

As a rule, prostate cancer develops very slowly, if not at all. This allows you to identify the disease at an early stage and make the right decision about how to deal with the tumor. The survival rate for 5 years after the discovery of oncology is almost 100%, and often the doctor chooses a waiting strategy, which means he decides not to touch the tumor, constantly monitoring it and operating on the prostate only if the disease progresses.

At the same time, it should be noted that in the case of metastases, prostate cancer is extremely difficult to treat. In such a situation, only 28% of cancer patients survive the 5-year milestone. Fortunately, metastases in this type of oncology are quite rare, and regular examination allows you to "catch" cancer at a time when it is still treatable.

Does testing help?
In order to timely determine the appearance of prostate cancer, medicine offers 2 ways to check - a rectal examination by a proctologist, in which a specialist examines the prostate gland through the rectum, as well as a blood test for cancer cells (PSA test). By the way, the level of protein in a blood test, which shows the presence of oncology, can also increase with other diseases, which means that based on this examination alone, it is impossible to draw a conclusion about the presence of cancer.

2. Thyroid cancer

A very common type of cancer is thyroid cancer. There are several types of oncological lesions of this small organ of the endocrine system, among which the papillary type is the most common. It develops very slowly and it is thanks to this that doctors are able to identify and remove the neoplasm in a timely manner. Statistics confirm that early detection in 98% of cases provides a 5-year survival rate for patients. True, after removing part of the "thyroid gland", the patient is prescribed hormonal drugs that will have to be taken all his life. But is it really a reason to be upset when life is at stake?

It should be noted that not all types of thyroid cancer are so “compliant”. So, for example, anaplastic thyroid cancer develops rapidly and provokes the formation of metastases, which means it reduces the likelihood of survival within 5 years from the moment the disease is discovered to 7%.

Does testing help?
It is worth noting that screening tests to detect thyroid cancer in the early stages simply do not exist. This means that the only way to detect a tumor early is to regularly visit an endocrinologist, who can detect cancer by palpation or ultrasound. The person himself should be attentive to his body and consult a doctor, noticing a nodule in the neck or having a problem swallowing while eating.

3. Testicular cancer

This not the most common type of cancer is quite successfully treated by removing the testicle on which the tumor has formed. With such an operation, a man has one testicle, which means that his childbearing function is preserved and does not prevent him from having offspring. If testicular cancer is detected at later stages, surgical removal alone will not solve the problem. Chemotherapy or laser radiation will be required. In addition, 40 years ago, scientists developed the drug Cisplatin, which today helps to successfully fight even the advanced form of this disease. It is the availability of methods for successfully combating an oncological tumor in the last stages that distinguishes testicular cancer from other types of cancer. Be that as it may, the 5-year survival rate in case of detection of such a tumor is at least 93%, and even the fight against a severe form of testicular cancer gives 73% of patients a chance to live 5 years or more.

Does testing help?
Screening methods for diagnosing testicular cancer also do not exist. In this case, every man should take care of his own health and consult a doctor for any tumor-like formations on the testicles, as well as for suspicions that one testicle has become larger than the other.

4. Breast cancer

One of the most common types of cancer is breast cancer. And it is doubly gratifying that it is in the fight against him that doctors have made the greatest progress. Scientists have made significant progress in studying the mechanisms of development of this disease and methods for diagnosing it. The numbers speak for themselves: early detection of cancer allows 89 out of 100 patients to live at least 5 years from the moment the disease is detected. True, it all depends on the degree of development of the tumor, which progresses quite quickly, as well as on the type of cancer, because some of them are more susceptible to drug treatment , than others. For example, tumors that are sensitive to estrogen levels are well suppressed by taking medications that reduce the level of this hormone, while “triple negative” cancer is considered an aggressive form of cancer that practically does not respond to targeted therapy.

Does testing help?
Of course, regular visits to a mammologist and the passage of mammography and breast ultrasound are the most effective ways to detect the disease early. As a rule, women are recommended to have an annual examination starting at the age of 40-45.

5. Melanoma

This type of cancer, which affects the skin and mucous membranes, is considered the most insidious tumor, which most often affects young people aged 15-25 years. Fortunately, modern medicine has achieved encouraging success in the fight against this type of oncology. Perhaps the whole point is the early detection of the disease, which is easy to see on the skin with the naked eye. Due to this feature, the detected melanoma gives a cancer patient a chance to live more than 5 years in 91% of cases. Moreover, for this, doctors resort to the usual removal of a part of the skin affected by malignant cells.

The insidiousness of melanoma is that it develops very rapidly. And if you do not notice the tumor that has appeared or delay in contacting a doctor, melanoma is more likely than other oncological tumors to be fatal. As practice shows, only in 15% of cases a patient with melanoma that has spread to other organs survives a 5-year milestone.

Does testing help?
As practice shows, melanoma is more often detected by patients themselves, turning to doctors with questions about tumors or dark-colored neoplasms that appear on the skin, which were not there before. Typically, melanoma appears on the scalp, back, scrotum, or between the fingers. With any neoplasm that makes you suspicious, you should consult a dermatologist. And if your family has already encountered cases of skin cancer, it makes sense to get checked regularly by a dermatologist.

These figures are real statistics, behind which are thousands and even millions of human lives. Take a look at least at public people who at a certain period of their lives faced this terrible disease.

Robert DeNiro
The famous actor found out about a deadly disease - prostate cancer, in 2003, when he was not even 60 years old. The treatment was difficult, a prostatectomy was required, which completely saved the Hollywood star from a terrible disease. 13 years have passed since then, and Robert De Niro still delights us with his incredible acting, proving that life after cancer exists.

Angelina Jolie
Worries about the death of her mother, who also died of oncology, led the famous Hollywood actress to a terrible diagnosis - breast cancer. Fortunately, a timely mastectomy allowed the actress to get rid of mortal danger. Almost 10 years have passed since then, which means that there is hope that the disease will never return.

Vladimir Pozner
The famous TV presenter found out about his diagnosis back in 1993. Fortunately, the cancerous tumor was discovered quite quickly, and the doctors managed to convince Posner of the need for an operation. The tumor was small, the intervention was successful and without subsequent chemotherapy. The family of the TV presenter, who was always there and behaved as if there was no threat to the life of Vladimir Vladimirovich, also played a huge role in the fight against the deadly disease.

Laima Vaikule
The famous pop singer received terrible news about breast cancer back in 1991. Moreover, the tumor progressed seriously, leaving virtually no chance for treatment. However, the singer did not give up, she regarded the illness that had befallen her as a sign from above, as an impetus to rethink her life. After intensive and prolonged treatment, Vaikule fully recovered and returned to her beloved work. For 26 years after this tragic moment, the singer lives a full life and pleases us with her songs.

Lance Armstrong
The cycling legend, 7-time winner of the Tour de France also suffered cancer, and in his case, the doctors did not give a chance for further life. “Last stage testicular cancer” was the diagnosis given to the athlete. However, self-confidence and consent to undergo a new, yet unexplored method of treating genital oncology, made it impossible. The athlete has recovered. It was 1996. All the victories of Lance Armstrog and world fame were yet to come.

This article provides only a few examples of successful cancer treatment. Moreover, one should not think that famous personalities managed to avoid mortal danger only thanks to money and connections. Cancer spares neither the rich nor the poor. The secret of their miraculous healing is the timely detection of the tumor and the incredible belief that the disease will not be able to defeat them! So, every patient has a chance. Take care of yourself!

Who defeated cancer is Tanya!

“My name is Tanya Belkova. I have breast cancer.

No, it's not like that.

I am thirty one years old. I have three children. Petya is eleven, Vitya is seven, Masha is five. I work and I have breast cancer.

I was bald, I was ugly. But there are cosmetics to draw eyebrows. Beautiful handkerchiefs look great on a head without hair. I know many ways to hide the face of illness.

Yes, cancer hurts. But not scary and not humiliating. I have walked this path myself."

Photo from personal archive. "I have someone to live for!"

We met with Tanya in April when she was doing "red" chemo. Short, thin, like a twig, pale. No hair, no eyelashes, no eyebrows. We were sitting in a cafe, and I tried not to look at how hard she was given each piece. But such a powerful stream of energy emanated from this fragile girl that I had no doubt that she would jump out of this terrible mess.

We agreed on a new meeting after the disease subsides. And now, eight months later, we meet again in a cafe. I hardly recognize in the model-beautiful girl, whom men look at, that shadow, tortured by illness. No, she still weighs 42 kilograms with her clothes on, and the waist can be intercepted with closed hands, but this boyish haircut, the radiance of the eyes, the freshness of the skin - does it really happen?

Then she promised her oncologist to bake her signature cake in September.

Didn't bake anything. Four "red" chemistry I worked. After each session, I did not eat anything for several days, so as not to feel sick from the smell of food. I drank only freshly squeezed juices. Raise yourself in any way and go to work. I thought that everything would be over, and I would bake cakes at full strength.

Then taxanes began - four more chemo, and my hands ate. I'm always lucky with side effects. The skin peeled off like a glove. Fingers have lost sensitivity, and she has not yet recovered. I can’t use a needle because I don’t feel: did I take it or not?

Now I'm not even afraid to donate blood from my finger! But it was impossible to work in such a state. I put on cloth gloves, then rubber gloves, so that the children could at least cook breakfast. That's it for the cakes. The only cake I made for Petya's birthday. I did it for three days. Usually during this time I managed to bake 30 cakes.

- Didn't you have any strength?

Did not have. They disappeared when the irradiation began. There after all not only a burn, also leukocytes fall. I wanted to sleep like hell. At seven in the morning I woke up the children in the kindergarten. She took me away, returned home and slept until five. And then she took the children to various developmental activities. In the summer, a charitable foundation gave us a ticket to the sea. After resting, I started baking cakes again. They dispersed well, and then the day came when I put the biscuits on and realized that I did not have the strength to collect them. They stood for two days, and I threw everything away. Once I baked cupcakes, and it was hard for me to hold the mixer. Masha still made a pink cake, as she dreamed, but she couldn’t do it on Vitin’s birthday. It was my first time ordering a cake. Nobody ate it...

But the treatment is finally over. The long-awaited recovery has come.

Not recovery, but remission. All people who are undergoing cancer treatment are waiting for this magic word "remission". They told you: “You are in remission, and therefore you are healthy!” Not true. The rays burn the heart, lungs, trachea. Chemistry destroys the liver. It turns out that all the internal organs that are responsible for our health have suffered greatly. They need to be restored.

We need rehabilitation, which our state has not yet come up with for cancer patients. Athletes after injuries, people after a stroke undergo rehabilitation. And after cancer, it takes time for the body, exhausted and poisoned by chemotherapy, to be able to recover.

Due to the fact that the hormonal background has sat down, I have hot flashes, like women in menopause, a cough, with which I can’t do anything yet. For example, I do not have a certain percentage of bone mass, and when you sit for a long time, you feel how the spine presses. You must either build muscle mass through training, or wear a corset. I chose training, and two weeks after the rays I came to the gym. Now I look good, but for this I had to spend a lot of energy.

- Nice haircut. Did the new hair grow back quickly?

When they promise that hair will begin to grow two weeks after chemo, this is not true. I finished chemistry on July 27, in September the first “stumps” just started to appear. Hair grew gray, temples were all white. The lashes took the longest to recover. They grow straight at first, and then fan out in all directions. Fragile, brittle. An interesting thing happened to the eyebrows. I plucked my eyebrows once. They don't grow anymore.

- Tanya, I see: there is a new profession in the business card - a beauty consultant.

I give advice on the selection of cosmetics of one company. You can hold the brush between your fingers. (Demonstrates.) After all, I need to show clients how to take care of themselves, how to choose the right care. This is my job. First, I say how old I am, how many children I have and what I went through this year. Everyone is in shock. Nobody believes. I have always loved making people happy. If I can't feed them, then it's up to me to make them beautiful. I have several friends with a diagnosis, whom I am not able to help with money, but I can support with cosmetic products. Preserving beauty is very important so that later, when you finish the treatment, it would not be scary to look at your reflection in the mirror.

But back to the cakes. I really want to bake! I still look at other people's pictures on the Internet, and I myself have a lot of new ideas. If the cosmetics that I am currently doing is still someone else's product, then my cakes are from scratch. They have my soul.

Surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy - a long and hard way. How does a person feel when the countdown begins?

You live, you fight... It's like walking to the sea from . It’s hard, it hurts, your shoes are worn out, and now you’ve entered knee-deep blue waves and don’t know what to do next. It's like the Afghan return from war syndrome. There are two types of people: people like me who say: we live on, and better than before! We will get new impressions, watch good films, walk. Communicate with people who can overcome themselves, who pulled themselves out of the crisis - anyone.

Others think: what if I get sick again? So, sports are not allowed, the pool is not allowed, everything is not allowed! The man put himself in quotation marks: "disabled."

I know I have today and I have tomorrow. Everything can break at any moment.

- Remission is a shaky word...

Cancer is not a sore throat or a fracture that will not recur without a reason. Remission means that there is no active disease. She left for a year, for five years, for a lifetime with someone. I had a friend, Katya from Novosibirsk. Three months ago, she wrote that she was in remission. And then - a relapse. Hospital. Katya died a few days before the New Year. She was in her early thirties. Previously, breast cancer occurred in women over 45, and now my peers are sick. Why? I am small, thin, with three children, athletic, a vegetarian. And people with excess weight, alcoholism, smoking from the age of 13, couch potatoes are in order, they have a maximum of cholesterol and heart.

- Did you know Katya in real life?

No, they only communicated on social networks. The day she passed away still stands before my eyes. Mom and I went shopping. They measured boots, chose gifts, had fun. An SMS with the news of Katya's death came when I was on the subway home. I was wearing makeup, mascara was dripping down my collar. I realized that I needed to go there, to Novosibirsk. Just to honor the memory of a man.

After a difficult treatment, a couple of days before the New Year, she dropped everything she was doing and flew across half the country, into the night, to say goodbye. Put a bouquet of roses.

In the morgue, at the coffin, she suddenly realized that, in fact, she could be in the place of this young woman. Also get a relapse, and then two options: either fight or die.

I looked into the eyes of my fear and realized that I was not afraid of it. So, we can go further. It's like a dark room. It's just scary to go into it, and then it's normal. Katya had a very beautiful, peaceful face, and I realized that it was not her who was hurting, but those who remained. Her child, who lost her mother before the New Year, her husband. I saw his eyes, he was very much in love with her.

Frankly, I have rarely met people of such a degree of openness as Tanya Belkova. This, of course, is one of the reasons for the incredible popularity of her Instagram. Subscribers, and there are about 35 thousand of them, every day read the annals of her life like a novel.

Openness is also insecurity. And even such a strong person as Tanya sometimes cannot stand it when she reads malicious and envious comments. There was a moment when she took time out on the Web to just catch her breath.

At the Novosibirsk airport, I went online. I thought they would say to me: “Tanya, well done for flying. Buy a bouquet for Katya for us!” They wrote that I went to the funeral for PR ...

When I went to the gym for the first time after a long break and made a post about my first workout, my Instagram just exploded with negativity. People wrote: "If you have the strength to go to the gym, why can't you bake cakes?" How to explain that these are different things?

They can't forgive me for getting well. “You no longer have cancer? Okay, but you have to be a beggar, miserable, terrible.”

They came to watch me die. Mom of three children, without a husband, with a bunch of diagnoses, without money, bakes cakes. If he stops baking, he will die of hunger. The first four chemistry I baked non-stop 10 cakes. I didn’t get enough sleep, my blood counts dropped, and I realized that I needed to reduce my activity. But we made it through the summer. When I posted pictures from chemistry, where I had a catheter, I was provided with a bunch of likes. As soon as the picture changed and I stopped being sorry, everything changed.

"Why did they give her the sea?" "Why does she need the sun after chemo?" Such questions. In the sun you can not with one type of cancer - with melanoma. And for people like me, there are a lot of protective creams, hats, scarves. I took an umbrella with me. The sun touched my skin only when I went swimming. I swept on all the slides, with a wild squeal!

Girlfriends are trolling according to the diagnosis: either someone is sick now, or someone who has also recovered, but lives a different life than I do. They do not understand: why do I have the strength to go to the theater or to a cafe, but not to cakes? Dressing nicely, sitting in an armchair and drinking coffee is easy. Try it. And baking non-stop in the heat is very difficult.

Selfie at the gym. Two weeks after irradiation.

Perhaps this is the cost of popularity. And there are still many more good people. It was they who supported in the most difficult time both in word and money.

Certainly! And I am immensely grateful to them. Some stores sent dresses and other clothes, and one brand company presented a sheepskin coat. Only later did I find out how much it cost... During my illness, I had a whole collection of beautiful handkerchiefs and kerchiefs. I keep them.

I have a friend who can send an SMS at 3:30 in the morning with a request to pick me up from another city, and he will answer: “I can leave right now!”

Once I wrote on Instagram: “Friends, if you have unnecessary tickets to theaters or exhibitions (for children and adults), the triplets and I would love to go. They are so inquisitive now! I need to drive somewhere on weekends, otherwise this is how it will be today - I'm in my pajamas all day, tenderly feeling sorry for myself before tomorrow's procedures. I will have a personal Chernobyl. A little scary. I'm afraid of a burn under my arm, because there the seam healed for a long time and painfully. They gave me tickets, threw links to discounts or free performances.

For children's birthdays, an unfamiliar animation team helped arrange fabulous celebrations with balloons. The other day we visited the Moskvarium at VDNKh with our children. And when I had to earn money for radiation therapy, and I could no longer bake cakes, one subscriber simply transferred this money to me and wrote: “Tanya, bake as much as you want, but you already have money!”

- In general, if you want to recover - look for money! What about free healthcare?

Free medicine is indifference, a conveyor belt. If you are lucky, you will come across a humane, kind-hearted doctor who will tell you how to act. And no luck - there will be an indifferent "white coat", which everyone got. At first I was even afraid of my doctor, until I realized that I didn’t need anything from him.

The dispensary gave me a disability for a year. This pink piece of paper entitles you to a wheelchair sticker for your car and a pension of 12,000. They asked me: "How many chemo did you do?" - "Eight!" - “And if there were six, they would give the third group without a pension! Disability needs to be verified every year.

Cancer centers are a special world, with its eternally cold, dank corridors, where you always feel cold. It smells of drugs, pain and fear. You are sitting in line for an ultrasound scan, you have no leukocytes, but no one will miss it - after all, everyone here is equal. Once there was nowhere to sit, and I just sat on the floor.

If you don't have money, you will wait for the queue to come. For surgery, for ultrasound, for everything. Six months should not pass between chemo and radiation, ideally it should be done right away. It seems like rays according to a quota, but for this quota I gave the amount in an envelope so as not to wait.

A person who is faced with a disease should first look for competent doctors and only then money. Friends helped me pay for the treatment. This is an astronomical sum. I had cool chemotherapy and medicines after it, paid droppers, when I came on time and did not wait a second. Her sick friends were surprised: “Why does Tanya bake cakes while we lie down?” Katya from Novosibirsk was treated for free...

Tanya, when was it especially scary? When was the diagnosis announced or later? After all, cancer treatment is very tough, not everyone will survive.

Everyone is afraid of this diagnosis at the level of cold blood, and I was also afraid to even talk about it: if you say it, then you will accept it, but until you say it, it seems like it doesn’t exist. But then it was necessary to make a decision: I climb into the fire to the last. It's like walking on coals or broken glass. As long as you believe that you will overcome, everything will work out. You go and don't notice. As soon as you doubt, immediately burns and cut wounds. So here too.

Recently I participated in one program on the radio. They conducted a survey among listeners: if they knew that they had cancer, would they fight or not? So, two people out of three would fight, and one would not, that is, a third would give up ... This is not my way, because I love life and I have someone to live for.

The last time I got scared was when I saw a thick needle from a drug that had to be injected every 28 days for five years. I counted - exactly 60 injections! Then for the first time I thought: why do I need all this? It is necessary to prick in the adipose tissue on the stomach, but I don’t have this fold ... I looked at the needle for ten days. And threw it in the trash. There is an alternative. Quite radical, but I chose it.

- Cancer is also a huge experience of losses and, oddly enough, gains.

I wrote on Instagram that my cancer took away several close friends from me, almost a year of an active and fulfilling life, and also hair and nails. At the same time, he took with him an allergy to mangoes, which I had from the age of 7 (for the first time, a grandfather from India brought us mangoes, since then). Cancer gave me some ugly scars, and at the same time some new, faithful and sincere friends, gave me a whole month of love then, in the spring, gave me the opportunity to be myself and talk about what seems important to me. And thanks to all these circumstances, now there is such a me, more understanding, more vulnerable, more real.

During my illness, I realized that I need to look in myself for an opportunity not so much to change the world as my attitude towards it. The world will not change. And from the fact that an unfamiliar beautiful girl smiled at you in the subway, it will become a little warmer in it.

I got this amazing feeling of femininity and attractiveness, when people look not with sympathy, but with admiration. I was waiting for this moment so much and finally burned the calendar for that year, all the pages with the dates of chemo and irradiation.

And now I can come and say: “Hello, my name is Tatyana Belkova. I am a mother of many children, I again defeated cancer. This is great".

P.S. Yesterday Tanya started baking her magic cakes again.

Conflict and Cancer

Love given is love received.

J.-M. Templeton

Know: cancer can not only be prevented, but also successfully dealt with, regardless of the stage. But for this you need to know what causes contribute to the occurrence of cancer. It is known, for example, that health and family relationships are interrelated. In most cases, the onset of this disease is preceded by stressful situations, especially long ones. It is believed that family scandals include a mechanism for the destruction of the body. The literature describes a case when the cause of the first family scandal was the lack of blood on the bed of the newlyweds on their wedding night. And although the unfortunate wife turned to experts who officially established her virginity, her husband did not believe her. He constantly reproached his wife, she never felt like a real woman in bed, sex brought joy only to him. It all ended with breast cancer.

But this story has a good ending. The woman went to a sanatorium and met a young man (ten years her junior) who suffered from a severe heart disease. They fell in love and after surgery to remove the mammary gland, they got married. They were happy for ten years, until the worn-out heart of her husband stopped.

It is known that the cause of cancer, especially cancer of the female organs, is in the area of ​​intimate relationships. And both sides are to blame here: men - in inattention, inability and inability to deliver sexual joy to women; women - in fear of being branded frigid, in false shame.

Other material circumstances can also contribute to the emergence of cancer. For example, the choice between buying a car and eco-friendly housing, or between spending time in nature or in a city restaurant is often made in favor of the less useful one. I know a case when a husband bought himself a new car instead of the treatment promised to his sick wife in a sanatorium, which she really needed: her immunity was sharply weakened. A year later, the wife fell ill with cancer and died. How her husband was “killed” after that! If only he knew!

We must take care of each other. It often happens that one of the spouses feels undeservedly forgotten, deprived of love, but is silent, because we are dependent on the other, for example, financially. Or in the family it is not customary to upset each other, sharp corners are silent. Both tactics are wrong. In family life, conflicts cannot be avoided, but one must be able to resolve them. If any disagreements suddenly arise, they should be calmly discussed and a common solution should be found. At the same time, everyone should see their own shortcomings, and not blame the other. Can't change another! I heard how one young wife threatened to "re-educate" her slovenly husband. Nothing will come of it, there will only be scandals, and then diseases. If some character trait does not suit you in your future life partner, think about whether you can come to terms with it. If you can't, if she really annoys you, don't connect your life with this person.

Conflicts preceding cancer can be caused by mental discomfort, dissatisfaction with oneself, and serious feelings. Such a conflict changes the hormonal status - leads to the release of hormones into the blood, which weakens the immune system, gives a signal for cell reproduction.

Cancer has been aptly dubbed the “disease of sadness.” The disease of the body is only a small part of the destructive process. The hidden part is the sickness of the soul. Stress leaves an unhealed wound in the human soul. If the situation repeats, it may open again. So, in a military family, the wife suffered from stomach cancer, the treatment was successful, but the doctors advised her to change the ecological situation - to leave the regional center for the village, to nature. The husband refused - he would have been forced to leave his beloved job. After some time, the wife fell ill with ovarian cancer and soon died. The husband was shocked. He loved his wife and hoped that everything would end well.

If there is a cancer patient in your family– feel responsible: and its future depends on you. Should he live or not? The question is not easy. Material costs, the attention needed by a sick person, love, without which he simply cannot survive. Help him, create a favorable atmosphere at home without scandals, change your attitude towards stress and help the patient change his attitude towards stress. Everyone has more than enough reasons for grief, resentment, even despair. But know: stress is caused not so much by an unpleasant event as by our attitude towards it.

Let us treat others kindly, forgive them for unintentional offenses and find peaceful ways to resolve conflict problems. And then the self-destruct mechanism will be disabled.

Word - to our expert, surgeon-oncologist, doctor of medical sciences, professor Vyacheslav Egorov .

Everyone who has been diagnosed with a malignant tumor needs to take five life-saving steps.

Step one.

Find out and write down the exact diagnosis, and then collect all the information about your disease: the full name and stage of the disease; type, grade and location of the tumor; the meaning of all medical terms relating to diagnosis and treatment; results of blood tests, tumor microscopy, examinations - ultrasound, CT, MRI, PET.

Step two.

Collect all the information about the treatment options for your type and stage of the tumor.

Namely, about:

• What is included in the "gold standard" of her chemotherapy and surgical treatment?
• How effective are modern methods of treating your disease and have new ones appeared, and are they currently undergoing clinical trials in our country?

Step three.

Look for a "second opinion". Be sure to check with another doctor you trust.

In order for the doctor's opinion to be objective, provide him with all the information about your illness. Having studied the recommendations of both specialists, you will be able to evaluate the proposed treatment method more carefully.

Step four.

Choose (if possible) a medical institution where they are treated in strict accordance with international recommendations.

If there are clinical trials for new drugs for your type of tumor, try to get involved.

If you need surgery, choose your surgeon carefully! Operations for cancerous tumors are usually complex and lengthy - after all, they often include the complete or partial removal of any organs (for example, the pancreas or stomach), as well as lymph nodes. The result of surgery depends on the experience of the doctor in this area.

Step five.

Stay positive!

Do what pleases you: watch good films and performances, play different games, walk around beautiful places, draw, sing songs, go to the cinema and stadiums, learn what you have long dreamed of learning ... An activity that will cheer you up, sure to be found! Fight for yourself! Knowledge, optimism, the will to win and the support of loved ones are the right path to recovery.

By the way

There is a chance to recover even in stage IV cancer. An example of this is the history of the American Richard Bloch. In 1978, he was told: you have the last stage of lung cancer, you have three months to live. The patient and his relatives began to fight with all their might ... Two years later, even traces of a malignant tumor were not found in Bloch's body. After his recovery, Richard and his wife Annette dedicated themselves to saving cancer patients and set up a foundation to help cancer patients. When Richard passed away in 2004 (but not because of cancer, but because of heart failure), the foundation was headed by Annette. In the USA, in the city of Minneapolis, there is a park that was once created by Annette and Richard. Walking along it, you can read the instructions for survival for patients diagnosed with cancer. They were compiled by Richard Bloch himself, based on his own experience of defeating a formidable disease.

Another American Lance Armstrong 7 times won the most famous cycling race on the planet - the Tour de France. So far, no one has been able to repeat this record. In 1996, the athlete, who was only 25 years old, was diagnosed with testicular cancer, with metastases to the lungs, abdomen and brain. There was a 20% chance of survival. The patient underwent several operations, decided to test a new method of chemotherapy on himself and ... recovered. And then he created the Lance Armstrong Foundation to help those with cancer, and returned to sports. A little later, Lance won the first of seven victories at the main cycling races in the world.

They know everything about pain and despair. Do not argue - the argument called "cancer" is very difficult to oppose something. Unless it is spiritual strength and unknown to those who have not been touched by a terrible diagnosis, the desire to live. They all know about it too. Because they won.

There are 12 of them - participants in the project "Strong in spirit - always beautiful." Volunteers, an oncologist who helps people fight the disease every day, and women who once personally encountered an oncological diagnosis. Now they themselves help other sick people. They come to the patients of the oncology dispensary and tell by their own example that even the most terrible illness can be overcome. “Strong in spirit…” is a joint project of the Arina Tubis Charitable Foundation and ANO OncoLiga. According to the organizers, the goal is the rehabilitation of women through the creation of a new image that will help restore confidence and a positive attitude. Stylists, designers, photographers helped the participants create a new image, and the culmination was to be the appearance of the transformed participants on an impromptu podium. But before that happened, the strong-willed took the time to have a short conversation with us.

Olga Kharlanenkova, oncologist: “It is very difficult to tell a person that he has cancer”

- Fear of cancer is a completely understandable phenomenon, because even with a successful outcome, life is divided into “before” and “after”. Upon hearing the diagnosis, people react in different ways. Some panic, and that's the worst thing that can happen. Others sink into depression. And the third mobilize all forces and begin to be actively treated. It would seem obvious that this is the most productive way. But there are even such patients who, for various reasons, refuse to be treated. This should not happen in today's world! I would like to convey this to every patient, but, unfortunately, not every doctor has enough time to convince. Therefore, I really liked the project “Strong in Spirit”, because women who are not theorists participate in it, they experienced firsthand what it is like to get sick and recover. And who, if not they, can help others overcome the fear of illness?

Svetlana Demina: “After getting acquainted with my diagnosis, I answer “yes” to all proposals!

“I recovered 10 years ago. At first, when I found out that I had cancer, for some time I thought that my life was over. Then my friend just took it and, without explaining anything, took me to the monasteries. When I realized that many people were praying for me, I began to enter the Orthodox life, it became a little easier. I did not hide my diagnosis from my colleagues: I work in a pharmacy organization, and they helped me organize the treatment correctly and professionally. With the current possibilities of medicine and pharmacology, there are chances, and quite good ones. But the real relief came after the third course of chemotherapy, when the doctor said that the tumor began to decrease, and I realized that everything, we did it!

Now I work in a society for helping women with breast disease, which operates at an oncology dispensary. We try to go to the wards of those who are undergoing treatment twice a month, talk about our organization, say that if you need help, you can contact us, leave your phone numbers. Those who have not been ill with oncology do not understand what is happening to a person, and cannot always behave correctly. Often the patient is pitied. And this cannot be done! People immediately begin to cry, fall into despair, and in this case what is the use of this pity!

You just need to find someone who has gone through such a disease. Look into his eyes and ask: “How did you do it?” For me, the algorithm for solving the problem is important: to draw up a treatment plan so that it is like a corridor along which a person must walk, and not take a single step to the side. Of course, the treatment is very difficult. But before the illness, I was not a strong person. On the contrary, a prosperous girl who did not have to fight. And if I was able to go through this and win, then the rest can. We have very strong girls in Karelia.

You know, I used to put off a lot of things for later. Now I don't do that anymore, because I know that "tomorrow" may not be. It seems to me that I now have a richer life than before, a taste for it has appeared. If you want to travel, go ahead! There was an idea to please someone - do not delay, if you want to say - say, an idea arose to do something - do it immediately! Live now! Maybe that's why the disease was given to me, so that I could understand it!

Lyubov Nikitina: "I don't need pity!"

- When I was in the hospital after the operation, volunteers came to us and invited me to the patient's school. And then I, and other women who were undergoing treatment (I don’t want to call them sick), decided that this was not enough for us. And we began to meet in an informal setting: we go to the cinema, to exhibitions, we just talk. I don’t advertise my diagnosis, I don’t talk about it at work. Even my friends do not know that I am undergoing treatment. I'm afraid they'll start pitying me. And people like me don't need pity. I don't want to be different from healthy people. All my life I have been involved in sports and ballroom dancing and I am not going to quit.

Now I began to paint pictures - I studied in two art studios, I try different techniques, most of all I like painting. And it seems to me that the earth gives strength. According to the horoscope, I am a sign of the earth, and working in the country, I feel that the earth gives me energy. We travel everywhere with my family, including in Karelia: we go to the forests with tents, live on the lake, for a week or two together with our friends from other cities. I also love fishing very much - usually my husband and I go to the lake for a few days. In general, I began to appreciate life: I want to do everything, see, learn, try. Thank God, I have a very good husband who helps and supports, and thanks to this, I think there should be a favorable outcome.

Irina Kovalenko: “I grabbed the bed and said to myself: “I will live!”

- When I heard the word “cancer” from the doctor, I didn’t believe it at first. It seemed like it could happen to anyone but me. Now I am telling other sick people about the right attitude, but for a long time I myself could not understand what it was. I was in the hospital after the operation, and my medical indicators worsened every day. My attending physician came into the ward, and I knew from his face that he would not say anything good. And one day he came up to me with a completely blank look. I realized that everything is really bad. And it was at that moment that something happened in my mind.

I then clutched the bed with my hands and said to myself: “I will live!” This was the beginning of a turning point, it was after an internal decision that something began to change. There was some kind of inhuman desire to live, to be with a family, with children - after all, the youngest is still quite small! Later, the anesthesiologist told me: “If a person has children, then the brain quickly falls into place.” Of course, it is very hard physically. I can't even describe how much.

I was on sick leave for 8 months. And I am very grateful to the volunteers who managed to find an approach to each of us. After all, it was hard for them with us - we are all very different people, exhausted by the disease. Patients are not always willing and ready to receive help. But the girls found both warmth and love for us. No matter what they say, but our people are amazing! This winter I skied for the first time to the second fountain. Previously, I usually only got to the fork. And now I can reach the end of the track, come back, and after a three-hour walk, there will still be strength left. The main thing that I now say to everyone who needs help is that you should not panic, otherwise other sores will stick. Cancer is really not a death sentence. This is a test to be passed through.

Svetlana Chernokhvostova: “I honestly show my prosthesis”

“The girls and I have been volunteering for several years already - we go to the window dispensary, communicate with women who are faced with a terrible diagnosis, and try to convince them that not everything is lost. It seems important to me to convey this idea, because now there are a lot of sick people, and I want them not to give up. 10 years ago, after visiting a doctor, I myself was in a state of horror - I lay and looked at the ceiling. I lay like this for a month: my husband was on a flight, there were two children at home, my brother had just been “pulled out” after the 4th stage of cancer, my mother was sick after this story, and now this horror is repeated with me!

It is especially difficult for a woman: after chemotherapy, hair is lost, you cannot look at yourself in the mirror, you are afraid to leave the house ... But the only thing I can say is that when you go outside for the first time after the operation, you look - the birds are singing, and you are so glad that you live! I really want people to understand: life is wonderful, it's great, and you have to fight for it. The doctor of our oncology dispensary, Lyudmila Grigoryevna Simonova, helped me a lot. And Vasily Dmitrievich Chikalyuk, who operated on me, referred me to her. I went in, sad, of course, exhausted, only 10 days after the operation had passed. She asks how are you. I say: “I don’t know ... I’m used to beautiful dresses, to a neckline, how can I now ...” Lyudmila Grigorievna says: “Wait, I have something.” And he gets a prosthesis.

I put it on and thought: “Yes, Christmas trees, sticks, it’s like nothing!” I went to the attending physician for an extract, and he asked me to go to the ward with the girls, "otherwise they are not in the mood for something." I go in - the girls are not just not in the mood, but just all lost. I began to tell that I had recently been operated on, only the stitches were removed. "Oh, how are you?" they ask. Well, I unbutton my jacket and show what and how. And then I saw in their eyes ... you know, as if rays began to appear in these lost looks. And it seemed that God gave me this test so that I could come and help others. And my husband helped me a lot. After the operation, he told me: “This is such nonsense, for me you are the same!”

And now, talking about the fact that oncology can be defeated, I honestly talk about my story, undress in the ward and show the prosthesis. Today, the host of the evening uttered a very fair phrase: “It’s like returning from the war!” You can't really say. But still, both the sick and their families do not need pity, but a good shake-up that will make them hold on to life with both hands. I thought about having a reconstructive operation, but the family is afraid to subject me to new tests.

Lyudmila Goncharuk: "My character saved me!"

- I had an operation in 2008, now I go through an examination once a year in my clinic. And I want to say that those who have recovered are becoming more. The main thing is not to be afraid and do everything that the doctor says, now we have very good specialists, the treatment really helps. When I found out about my illness, I was also scared. As if you are walking down the street, and suddenly you are hit hard on the head with a hammer. I think that my character saved me - I am strong and fighting. From the very beginning, I did not allow myself to cry and become limp. I don't even know where the power came from.

But now I can say for sure: the right attitude is 50% of success. Sometimes people get cured from a kind word. It's hard, but you have to force yourself to smile, meet friends, and look for hope everywhere. Even sitting in line to the doctor, we tried not to tell each other how bad we were, but to remember our comrades in misfortune who were cured and discharged.

God had mercy on me - I tolerated the treatment well. Some of them are bedridden after chemotherapy, and I ran to work. And the good thing is that there was less time left for bad thoughts. You get used to the changes in appearance. At the first moment, of course, it is uncomfortable, but then you learn to mask the traces of the disease. After chemotherapy, I had short hair - well, nothing, I began to wear haircuts. Before that, I had long curly hair. You can't wear a more open dress, of course. It is very important to love. Living for someone is the strongest incentive for many women. We try to remind sick women: “You are needed, you live, try, because you are loved!” I was divorced when I got sick. Therefore, I can’t say anything about male support or its absence. Now in my life there is a close person with whom we met after my recovery.