CAMAGÜEY.- In the University Hospital Manuel Ascunce Domenech, in this city, there is a weekly appointment known as Pulmonary Shade. It was created on November, 2015 because the lung cancer patients need the attention and treatment of specialist of several branches of medicine.

That was the declaration to the press made by Professor Miguel Emilio García Rodríguez, Doctor in Medical Science, Full Professor and Second Degree Specialist in General Surgery, who is, also, the Director of this assistance center, he added that lung cancer is the first cause of death in Cuba for this desease, and the first in morbidity for the same procedure in several provinces, and Camaguey is one of them.

The Professor added that for every patient diagnosed of cancer in the province there is two dying, that is why we search for a systematic diagnosis and treatment and we named the appointment that way because there we treat every person with an abnormality in the lung X-rays, there is some that do not suffer from cancer.

The sick people are treated by pulmonologists, imaging technicians, surgeons, oncologists, who focus on clinical trials, physiotherapists of several institutions and collectively is defined what to do in each case and the best is that the variability of behaviours decreases because they are submitted to a uniform diagnosis and treatment according to the case which includes the localization, the type and stage of the cancer and its general state; the required tests are conducted and the unnecessary ones are avoided, time is not wasted and they are in the hands of a highly qualified team.

The patient leaves the first appointment with precise indications, such as submitting to a CT scan, having a boipsy, a bronchoscopy — airway visualization technique through a flexible or rigid bronchoscope that can be used with diagnostic or therapeutic purposes—, which is all done in the course of a week as average althorugh some get it in about 21 days, depending on the findings. Even though we have had a significant number of surgeries in this hospital, with good survival rates, it is known that the only way to avoid or decrease the desease is through the right course of action of the Primary Healthcare (APS, Spanish Acronym), pointed out Dr. García, because is in that level that prevention is accomplished through promotion and education.

The field work in the health areas is paramount, stated, for the detection of the desease in preclinical stages, that is to say before the symptoms start showing up, which is why we work with people over 55 and up to 70 years old that smoke and consume over 30 packs per year and have first order family with history, even, of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and those who quit smoking less than 15 years ago.

It is essencial to quit smoking and, if accomplished, the withdrawal from the addiction is achieved in this range of assistance. Even though this is not the only cause, it is clear that it is one the causes for different types of cancer, especially in the lungs.

They are checked up even if they do not show any discomfort and oriented a low dose tomography — it uses less ionizing radiation than the conventional— and several abnormalies are determined, not all related to lung cancer but to the possibility of a diagnosis in sick people in the moment that their suffering can be cured.

The treatment, weather it is surgical, with chemotherapy, radiation therapy, also provides acces to the therapeutic vaccine CIMAvax-EGF®, which is applied to patients that do not recieve any other kind of treatment, even those that do not approve it, those who had surgery and treated with chemotherapy and radiation therapy and the survival has been very good.

Professor Miguel Emilio García Rodríguez commented taht lung cancer is an alarming subject worldwide, not only in Cuba; first, bacause of the incidence and second, for the mortality, with a global survival rate after five years of a 15%. Our country is one the three in America with the greatest number of people diagnosed with cancer, topped by Canada and the United States.

The smoking habit or addiction in Cuba is a non solved problem, said the Doctor, in fact Cuba is one of the nations in the region with the highest smoking rates and another factor is ageing population. Here over 19% of the population passes 60 years of age and lung cancer is more common in late ages.

Tis appointment receives people from all over the provinces of Camaguey, Las Tunas y Ciego de Avila and has very positive results, especially because the surgical interventions have taken place in appropiate stages.