The corona pandemic ensured that some cancer patients with advanced tumor diseases presented to the Amper-Klinikum Dachau.
Some cancer patients presented to the Amper Clinic in Dachau in the summer.
Several of the tumors were already advanced.
Apparently the corona pandemic delayed the correct diagnosis.
Dachau -
The
German Cancer Society
has
certified
five
specialist centers at
the
Amper Clinic
, thus confirming the high quality of
diagnosis
and
therapy
- and that after an examination in the middle of the
pandemic.
The clinic announced.
Two sentences in the letter are very sad: “Unfortunately, we had to find out that through the entire summer months we were mainly
presented
with
patients
with advanced
tumor diseases
.
It must be assumed here that the
pandemic
to a
delay
of
correct diagnosis
. ”The words are from Professor Dr.
Axel Kleespies,
chief physician
for general, visceral, thoracic and
oncological surgery
at the Amper Clinic.
In a conversation with the Dachauer Nachrichten, Kleespies, who is considered an outstanding expert in the fight against
cancer
,
becomes
clearer.
Professor Kleespies, in the press release you mention that primarily patients with advanced tumor diseases have come to you.
Can you give us any figures?
To do this, we have to
record
the so-called
“primary cases” of
a center.
Primary cases are those
cancers
that were diagnosed for the first time,
i.e.
newly diagnosed, at a center within a specified period of time.
For example, if we look at the patients at the Dachau Colorectal Cancer Center, we see that we
treated
50 patients with newly
diagnosed
colorectal cancer from
January to October of this year
.
Of these, eight patients (16 percent) showed an expansion of the
tumor disease
, which is considered no longer curable and is
treated
palliatively
.
In the same period last year (January to October 2019), we treated 55 patients with newly diagnosed colon cancer.
Of these, only three (5.4 percent) showed a
palliative tumor stage.
As a restriction, it must be added that these are low numbers that cannot be statistically reliably assessed.
Nevertheless, they at least underpin our perception of an increase in patients with advanced
tumor disease.
What kind of tumors are in general?
In addition to
colon cancer
we have made similar observations in
pancreatic cancer
and gynecological
tumors
, i.e. tumors of the female abdomen.
What were the reasons why the patients only came to the hospital over the summer months?
You can only make assumptions about this.
Patients
only come to
our
cancer center
or one of our organ centers
in
emergencies
.
As a rule, the first patient contact takes place with the family doctor or resident specialist, for example with an internist, endoscopist or gynecologist, for
routine examinations
, for
preventive care
or in the event of complaints.
Patients who are suspected of having a
tumor
are referred to our
cancer center
by the respective practices
.
We have to assume that at the beginning of the pandemic in spring to early summer, patients did not attend or had to postpone outpatient doctor appointments.
The uncertainty about the risk of a
doctor or clinic visit
played a not insignificant role at this point in time.
In this context, do you blame politicians like Angela Merkel, Markus Söder or Karl Lauterbach who have been scared people with their statements for months?
This is not about pointing the blame.
Avoiding fear reactions in the population is very difficult when the daily reporting from neighboring European countries shows
health systems
at their
limits
.
According to my very personal perception, all people working in health care and politics have tried over the past few months to
correctly assess
the
risk
situation
again and again
, to protect society with its healthy and sick individuals,
to avoid panic
and yet no more
avert a
manageable
infection situation
in German hospitals and medical practices.
The whole pandemic is a learning process.
At the beginning of the pandemic, the Helios Amper Clinic said that all necessary precautionary and protective measures had been taken and that cancer therapies would not be delayed due to Corona.
How is the current situation here?
Patients with
cancer
have been
diagnosed and treated comprehensively and without delay
in our center throughout the entire period of the
pandemic to
date
.
Cancer patients
were
decidedly excluded
from the politically decreed "postponement of planned
operations
" in our clinic.
That will also be the case in the future.
Thanks to the rapid implementation of comprehensive
hygiene measures
for staff and patients and the parallel implementation of digital sessions for necessary
tumor conferences
, all of the
cancer center's
important processes could be
maintained.
The German Society for Hematology and Medical Oncology (DGHO) already pointed out in May that “the fear of Covid-19 must not lead to early detection or the implementation of effective therapies being delayed.
The harm to patients would be immense ”.
Would you agree with that?
Yes, other specialist societies have also pointed this out, and we too feared a second
“cancer wave”
early on
due to the delay in
cancer diagnoses
.
We therefore
sought a
dialogue with the board of the
German Cancer Society (DKG)
very early on
and, together with the Dachau District Office and other political mandate holders, ensured that
cancer therapy was fully available at the Dachau site
despite the difficult conditions at the height of the
pandemic
and is.
Cancer award for the Helios Amper-Klinikum Dachau
The
German Cancer Society
has
certified
the breast, bowel and pancreas center as well as the head and neck tumor center and the cancer center at the
Helios Amper-Klinikum Dachau
, thereby confirming the
high quality
of diagnosis and therapy.
"It proves that we
offer
cancer patients
in our clinic the highest standards and perfect framework conditions for successful treatment," says clinic manager Florian Aschbrenner.
And Professor Dr.
Axel Kleespies, Chief Physician of General, Visceral, Thoracic and Oncological Surgery at the Dachau Hospital confirms: “This certification not only confirms our
professional qualifications
- it is above all the result of the excellent cooperation between our doctors, nurses, therapists and psychologists.
Smooth processes can only be guaranteed with a well-rehearsed team. "The perfect interaction was shown in the
high phase of the pandemic and lockdown
:" We were able to adapt our well-established diagnostic, decision-making and control processes to the new situation at high speed.
Not a single tumor conference had to be adjourned or postponed, ”said Kleespies.
The coronavirus pandemic never ends and new consequences are becoming known.
When it comes to diagnosing other diseases such as cancer, doctors warn of fatal effects.
British researchers are now expecting thousands of cancer deaths due to the corona measures.
In Germany, the situation could worsen.