About 5,000 new patients each year are diagnosed with breast cancer in Israel/ShutterStock
Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in the Western world.
In Israel, approximately 5,000 new patients are diagnosed each year, and thanks to high public awareness of early diagnosis, the importance of performing screening tests (mammography) and improvement in treatments in recent decades, most cases are detected at an early stage and the chances of recovery reach 80-90%.
It is customary to classify breast cancer into three main groups: a hormonal tumor that expresses hormonal receptors (ER and PR), multiplies in response to hormonal stimuli and responds to hormonal treatments (about 70% of patients are in this type);
A tumor that expresses receptors for a receptor called HER2 that causes cancer cells to divide and spread.
The third and most violent type is a triple negative type tumor that does not express the three receptors mentioned above and appears in approximately 15% of patients, more common in young women than women after the age of cessation of menstruation, menopause. This tumor is considered relatively aggressive, in women who are diagnosed In earlier and later stages, and when the disease becomes metastatic, the challenge becomes greater.
Prof. Tamar Safra/PR
"Until recently, the treatment of triple-negative metastatic breast cancer was based mainly on chemotherapy. It is a violent cancer and its medicine box is relatively meager, the chances of survival were relatively low," says Prof. Tamar Safra, director of the Women's Cancer Center in the oncology department at Ichilov Hospital.
"One of the breakthroughs of recent years in the field of oncology comes from the immunotherapy treatments, which brought about a fundamental change in recovery and survival in many types of cancer.
"Immunotherapy activates the immune system against the tumor and contributes to the treatment of a subgroup of TN breast cancer that expresses the appropriate biomarker," she says
. Those who know how to accurately identify the cancer cells and bind to them specifically, to which chemotherapy charges are attached, which are released in the vicinity of the tumor cells and kill the cancer cells.
In this way, it is possible to focus the treatment on the cancer cells and their environment, and use a higher concentration of chemotherapy with reduced damage to the healthy cells.
These drugs prolong the lives of patients and are a significant breakthrough in treatment."
Sounds like science fiction, but this is the ambition of oncology over the years, to directly damage tumors and infected cells and not damage healthy cells. Along with the drug treatment of the physical disease, there is the mental-consciousness dimension that must be known in its importance and to treat it as an engine for dealing with the improvement of the patients' quality of life. And indeed, beyond the medicinal treatments, Prof. Safra strongly believes in everything related to the treatment of the mind-body system in dealing with cancer and is considered a pioneering oncologist in the field who not only believes in it but actually acts according to this belief. She supports With many additional methods to improve the quality of life, as a treatment accompanying the anti-cancer treatment offered by scientific medicine.
"The new treatments give me and other patients the understanding that every day is significant"/ShutterStock
In Ichilov, there are recovering women participating in a study examining the effect of emotional-consciousness therapy using the awareness space method on their quality of life WELL BEING according to international parameters for the subject.
In this framework, the participants receive tools and abilities to deal with the disease and its side effects.
One of the patients participating in the study is Tal (pseudonym), 37 years old from Tel Aviv, whose story of dealing with breast cancer is moving and inspiring.
"At the age of 28, three years after I lost my mother to cancer, the sky fell on me for the second time and I was diagnosed with breast cancer," she says.
"Very quickly I started the treatment protocol that included chemotherapy treatments, radiation and surgery to remove the tumor, and at the end I was declared free of disease!".
Tal continued her life while completing her bachelor's degree and even joined the rowing group, a group of women sick and recovering from cancer, rowing a dragon boat in Nahal Yarakon.
"The group consists of 10 amazing and strong women," she says.
"Rowing itself is good for me physically because it involves all the muscles of the body and even prevents the development of lymphedema (lymphatic edema) in the hands. Rowing and the group of rowers have become a very important element in my life physically and mentally, and have become a wonderful activity and support group."
But precisely then, at the age of 35, shortly after she fulfilled her dream and gave birth to her first child, with her whole life ahead of her, the news came that shook her whole world again.
"About two years ago, I performed a routine follow-up examination. I was sure it would be another normal examination at the end of which I would be able to return to my life, but to my astonishment, cancerous metastases were discovered throughout my body," she recalls of that fateful day.
"The cancer spread to the lymph nodes, bones, lung and heart and it seemed that everything was lost for me. It was a very difficult period mentally for me with a small child and a husband, and many dreams to fulfill."
Despite the gloomy forecasts, Tal did not give up and with great courage she embarked on a fight for her life and decided to receive all the medicines and treatments that she could receive in her condition.
With the support of Prof. Safra, she began treatments that caused an almost complete withdrawal of the disease and joined the research group of emotional-cognitive treatments in Ichilov.
At the same time, Tal completely changed the course of her life, started volunteering in the community and became the leader of the rowing group.
"I believe that my cancer came against a background of difficult mental struggles. In the emotional treatments, we talk about taking responsibility for life alongside the disease, and perform activities related to meditation and the subconscious with spiritual frequencies and chakras," she says.
According to her, "The emotional-cognitive research group makes me optimistic and understands that not everything is black and that I should hope for the best. And that I can be active in the disease and improve the quality of my life. I hope that the rate of development of the treatments will allow me more time and more hope and will allow me to continue to enjoy my little son. The treatments The emotional-cognitive ones strengthen me and I try to continue spending time, rowing as I love so much and actually try to do everything that makes me feel good about myself. The new treatments give me and other patients the understanding that every day is significant and that we can have time to fulfill dreams, with the children, to travel in the world and gain more experiences. All of these allow me to face getting up every morning, and remain optimistic with the hope of additional and innovative treatments that will give me more time."
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