While in Switzerland 6,300 women are diagnosed each year, breast cancer still causes 1,400 deaths per year. But medical research is advancing and patient survival has almost doubled since the 1980s, according to a recent study.
Research for treatments against breast cancer is important in Switzerland where one in eight women is affected by this disease.
If research has long focused on the functioning of the disease and its resistance, since 2017, it has accelerated thanks to several novelties.
More effective treatments
“We have treatments that can double the effectiveness of hormone therapy. This means that control of the disease lasts twice as long as before. There is also immunotherapy to treat more aggressive cancers which improves the survival”, explains doctor Khalil Zaman, director of the breast center at the CHUV.
More traditional treatment methods have also evolved. Chemotherapy, for example, acts in a more targeted way and is released directly into the cancer cell. The number of treatments administered is also limited.
“We can analyze the cancer and see if it is aggressive or non-aggressive genes that are expressed. If they are aggressive, chemotherapy has a benefit for the treatment”, explains Doctor Khali Zaman. Otherwise, hormone therapy is sufficient.
A disease that affects self-image
However, new treatments such as immunotherapy or hormone therapy take a long time and patient support is essential. For Linda Kamal, director of the Otium center in Geneva and who faced the disease 10 years ago, “cancer affects both the self-image and the mind” of patients.
“During the treatments, different therapists solicit the patients. I wanted to create a space where you just have to push a door to be accompanied by all the specialists”, she explains at 7:30 p.m.
>> Linda Kamal’s interview in full:
Interview by Delphine Gianora
Adaptation web: Andreia Portinha Saraiva