Health

[Reporter Peng Huiwan/Taoyuan Report]Taoyuan City, for high-risk groups of lung cancer, since February 23, 2012, set up citizens in Taoyuan, who are over 40 years old, to provide free lung low-dose computed tomography (LDCT), qualified citizens You can go to the lung cancer screening appointment platform (URL: https://health.tychb.gov.tw/tyhpPublic/) to apply for an appointment. As of March 21, there were 3,415 applications, 1,830 appointments and 744 inspections. Among them, small nodules were found in 8 cases and required further follow-up. Another person found pancreatic vesicles through low-dose computerized tomography examination. Great and has been referred for treatment.

Taoyuan City is currently cooperating with 14 hospitals to provide free lung cancer screening services. The service targets are those with 4 types of risks: “Smoking Product Exposure”, “Related Disease History and Family History”, “Occupational Exposure” and “Air Pollution and Oil Fume”. The number of citizens applying for the factor is 819 (24%), 287 (8.4%), 133 (3.9%) and 2176 (63.7%), and those who meet the qualifications have already made appointments for inspections.

Lung cancer is the number one cancer death rate in China and in Taoyuan City. The reason why lung cancer patients have a high mortality rate and low survival rate is mainly related to the diagnosis stage of lung cancer. According to the Health Bureau, the current 5-year survival rate of the first stage of lung cancer is nearly 90%, but that of the fourth stage drops to 10%. LDCT examination can effectively detect lung cancer early and reduce the lung cancer mortality rate of heavy smokers by 20%. Because lung cancer may not have obvious symptoms in the early stage, regular screening is encouraged for high-risk groups so that early detection and early treatment can be achieved.

Low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) has a low radiation dose and does not require contrast agent injection. It only takes 2-5 minutes to scan the entire lung and find nodules smaller than 1 cm. Although there is a chance to find early lung cancer through LDCT, not all lung cancers can be diagnosed early; in addition, 95% of the lung nodules screened by LDCT may be benign. If you are too worried, you should follow the doctor’s advice to arrange medical treatment. The Health Bureau appeals that for the sake of your own health, you should be brave enough to refuse and quit smoking, maintain a good lifestyle, strengthen self-protection, and reduce the threat of disease. For more information regarding lung cancer screening, please visit the homepage of Taoyuan City Government Health Bureau. (Photo: Photo by reporter Peng Huiwan)

Some History. The use of living beings with the idea of ​​acquiring knowledge is not something new, it dates from quite distant times. In ancient Persia, kings allowed their doctors to experiment on men sentenced to death. The great da Vinci contributed to the knowledge of comparative anatomy in dogs and cats, but he predicted that one day animal experimentation would be judged a crime. Since anesthesia was not known at that time, an attempt was made to justify the suffering caused by arguing that this was necessary to acquire knowledge and on the other hand, accepting that animals did not feel, since they did not have a soul (?). Paying for this outrage, Thomas Aquinas (13th century) did not hesitate to burp: “they are wrong, they have no rights, therefore, human beings have no responsibilities towards them.” Worst impossible.

In the last century and part of the present, in the Medicine career, the student studied a subject called “Surgical Techniques in Animals”, in which, hypothetically, he acquired a series of skills that will enable him to perform various surgical maneuvers in humans. when the time comes to graduate as a Surgeon. The question that arises is, was that true? The sincere answer is a resounding no, nothing at all, this subject did not train the student for anything other than acquiring an aberrant vision of ethics and deontology. At present, surgical practices in animals only exist in the Faculties of Veterinary Medicine.

Recent knowledge regarding the ability of animals to be aware of their environment and feel pain, anxiety and fear oblige us to avoid, as far as possible, situations that cause them pathological stress, pain and discomfort. In 1959 Russel and Burch published “The Principles of Human Experimental Technique”, in which they propose something already universally accepted, the principle of the “3 R’s”: Replace, Reduce and Refine. By “replacing” is meant substituting animals with other methods such as computer models. “Reduce” refers to reducing the number of animals used in research, through careful planning. By “refining” is meant decreasing the frequency or severity of procedures to which the animals will be exposed. And all of the above applies perfectly to veterinary schools.

Numerous countries in both Europe and America have drawn up instructions that regulate the use of animals in experimentation. In Mexico, on June 28, 2001, the Official Mexican Standard NOM-062-ZOO-1999 was published in the Official Gazette of the Mexican Government: which, among other things, considers: “promoting the production, care and use of laboratory animals through the application of techniques aimed at guaranteeing production, protecting health and favoring the proper use of laboratory animals”. To further elaborate on the subject, the World Health Organization (WHO) published, in 1985, its “Principles for the use of experimental animals” which, among other things, states: Experiments on animals should be carried out only following due consideration of its relevance to human health and the advancement of knowledge. Animals must be treated conscientiously and minimizing stress and pain as ethical imperatives.

What were the arguments to support the supposed usefulness of surgical techniques in animals? On the website of a well-known University I find this fantasy: «Surgical techniques in animals, its objective: Integrate knowledge of pathophysiology and education and surgical technique in a living animal model, which allows you to acquire the necessary skills and abilities to treat first contact surgical patients and participate in major surgical procedures in their capacity as a general practitioner.

The foregoing is as false as a 15-peso bill, because the sad reality that any hospital surgeon has verified is that many of the students coming out of the 5th year of their degree hardly know how to mend a sock.

Does the slaughter of animals in medical schools help? Not at all, it is absolutely useless for the surgical training of students. Surgical skills can be learned and developed on simulators and 3D models to be further refined in surgical services under the personal supervision of surgeons.

This is the reality at present, it may not please some directors and some teachers, but that does not change anything. Students do not learn (and will not learn) surgery acting as dog killers. Let’s remember “In Medicine, all past times were worse”.