(12 Minute Read)
Today is
World Cancer Day, an international day marked on 4th February every year to raise awareness of cancer and to encourage its prevention, detection, and treatment. This past year has been a strange year for many of us due to the Covid-19 pandemic, with a lot of negative news circulating on a daily basis. Everything has also been solely focused on Covid-19, with developments, advances and stories of progress in other fields overshadowed.
However negative 2020 has been, there have been multiple causes for celebration, particularly in science. The year will be remembered for its advances in rapid disease testing and vaccination creation. However, progress in cancer research and treatment has also been a cause to celebrate. 2020 has been a significantly important year for understanding cancer with hope for 2021 being one of the best years for progress for research, detection and treatment yet.
2020 saw incredible developments, including, but not limited to:
Over the last decade, we have seen a continuous decline in the cancer death rate due to advances being made in cancer healthcare. Researchers have understood more about how to prevent, diagnose, treat and survive cancer. The success of immunotherapy and precision medicine has contributed to these advances. We have stepped away from a ‘one size fits all’ rhetoric in terms of cancer treatment. Researchers have highlighted the importance of palliative care in early cancer care treatment, with trials showing that when received simultaneously with medical treatment it can control their symptoms better, patients have less anxiety and depression and patients experience a better quality of life. Also, a greater understanding in health equity has led to reducing health disparities on cancer outcomes.
We have seen developments in cancer research and understanding come on in leaps and bounds and more is yet to come. Although these are incredibly challenging and difficult times for us due to Covid-19, there is hope that we will be out of this in the very near future. Try to focus on the positives and remind yourself that the situation is getting better for so many reasons, including cancer development and research. I leave you with
my hope that our unyielding pace of progress in understanding cancer will lead to better outcomes for all those affected by cancer.
Gigi Aulsebrook
Further reading:
Cancer Research. 2021. 2021: A bright future for cancer research. Available from: https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/funding-for-researchers/research-features/2021-01-28-2021-a-bright-future-for-cancer-research [Accessed 31/01/2021]
Nature. 2020. nature milestones: Cancer. Available from: https://www.nature.com/immersive/d42859-020-00083-8/pdf/d42859-020-00083-8.pdf [Accessed 31/01/2021]
Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. 2019. Advances in Cancer Research and Treatment in 2020. Available from: https://www.lls.org/blog/advances-in-cancer-research-and-treatment-in-2020-my-predictions [Accessed 01/02/2021]
Mason, L. 2018. 8 Modern Milestones in Cancer Research. Available from: https://www.technologynetworks.com/cancer-research/lists/8-modern-milestones-in-cancer-research-298953. [Accessed 01/02/2021]
ASCO. 2020. Cancer Progress Timeline. Available from: https://www.asco.org/research-guidelines/cancer-progress-timeline [Accessed 02/02/2021]