We are proud of the immense progress that has been made in haematology and oncology, the two fields I am involved in. This progress has been swift, taking place literally before my very eyes. During the past two decades, the success in treatment has increased from 10-20% to 80%. In that respect Poland has caught up with the West. This is attributed to many reasons.
For one, we have better knowledge of the pathogenesis of the disease. We know the genes which are responsible for the occurrence of cancer in children. Hence we know how to prevent some tumours. The anti-HPV is the latest hit in this respect. In this country, it is on the list of recommended vaccinations. I would suggest that each girl be vaccinated because it will ensure that she will not get uterine cervix cancer later in life. Naturally, it would be fine if we could be vaccinated against other forms of cancer as well.
The progress made in recent years is also the result of many new drugs. For one, there are the chemotherapeutic drugs. One should note, however, that while chemotherapy destroys cancer cells, it also damages healthy and regular cells and tissues, so this treatment method is not entirely friendly. More promising are signal track drugs that have appeared in recent years, in Poland too. Their action is more refined.
A significant progress has also been made in radiotherapy. Any child struck by cancer has a much greater chance of survival these days than two or three years ago owing to radiotherapy. Our centre has access to all the latest treatment techniques. The machines in our centre are genuine Rolls Royces of present-day radiotherapy. As of this year we have the possibility of irradiating the patient’s whole body before transplant. The computer sees to it that the beam reaches the tumour alone, without touching or damaging anything. PET (Positron Emission Tomography), the latest tool that exists in cancer diagnostics, and which detects single cancer cells, is also on hand at the Wrocław Medical University. It is available for each child in our care.
Our centre treats children from all over the country. We all rejoice over each child that has recovered from cancer in our centre. We have managed to cure children who were already at a stage where palliative care was considered the only option left. Pulling such child out of the clutches of death is always a spectacular success.
We are also the second largest centre in Europe offering bone marrow transplants. 70 such transplants are made each year. The centre is highly acclaimed in Europe for its achievements in this field. It has a strong presence in Europe’s transplantology, haematology and oncology. We use only European protocols.
We also coordinate many medical projects on the national scale. In June, the centre will host the first ever working meeting with specialists from the neighbouring countries of the Czech Republic and Germany to outline details of day-to-day collaboration.
As regards staff and equipment, Poland’s haematology, oncology, transplantology –broadly speaking medicine – represent top world standards. The problem, however, lies in the shortage of funds. The state budget covers only the cost of standard therapy. No investment or purchase of additional equipment and facilities for children under our care would be possible without sponsorship and donors. Poland still needs to develop an overall system of medical care. We are still waiting for changes with hope.