During the second day of the ‘First Ibero-American Meeting on Breast Cancer’ (Eiboma), which is taking place at the Luis Carlos Sarmiento Angulo Cancer Treatment and Research Center (CTIC), experts from several countries have shared their knowledge on the latest and most innovative oncological advances.
According to the criteria of
In this context, Dr. Cynthia Villarreal, director of Oncology at the TecSalud Breast Cancer Center and Researcher in Medical Sciences at the National Cancer Institute, shared with EL TIEMPO details about her new project: a digital platform called Onecta, designed to provide scientific, personalized, accurate and up-to-date information on breast cancer.
What is Onecta and what is its purpose?
OnConnect is an initiative that is dedicated to improving the education of breast cancer patients. We know that in Spanish there is very little information aimed at patients and that when a person has a diagnosis of breast cancer and wants to search for information, they go to Google or Yahoo or start looking for information that is not necessarily true, scientific, that it is up-to-date or that it is in words that patients can understand. In English there is much more information, but in Spanish there is almost no data aimed at patients. So, this is how Onecta started, as a platform that seeks to direct information to patients who speak Spanish, so that they have, on the one hand, a better understanding of their disease and so that they can understand the treatments they need, as well as so that can make informed decisions with their doctors.
How could this platform help breast cancer patients?
Having access to accurate information has been seen to improve adherence. If patients have all the information, they are much more likely to make appropriate decisions and that treatments are followed as they should. This obviously improves the results. Something that Onecta does is that it also personalizes the information. In breast cancer, patients can have different types of cancer and different stages of cancer, so something that may be a treatment for one patient, sometimes does not apply to another and with this platform the patient registers for free, Fill out a profile with her age, type of cancer, stage of cancer, and receive the personalized information she needs.
What other relevant information does the platform provide?
In addition to having medical information, it has information related to lifestyle care that patients should lead, psychology, nutrition, physical activity, among others. And also, it accompanies you on your journey. A patient who has recently been diagnosed with cancer will have different education and information needs than a patient who is already in a survival period, which has already ended.
Through what channels is Onecta available?
The platform is now available on the web and social media, and what we are looking for is for it to reach all the people who need it. That it doesn’t stay hidden. What we are looking for is for it to reach the patients, their families, the doctors, because it will also help us doctors to make our consultations more agile and for the patients to have somewhere to turn. This is because sometimes there is so much information that we give in a consultation that it falls short or sometimes so much information is not internalized. So, when the patient gets home, they can see the material in detail, with educational videos, infographics, narrative videos, and this can really change the whole experience.
How have you seen the panorama of breast cancer in Latin America?
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in Latin America and many other regions. It is the deadliest cancer and the trend is upwards. So, many components are key here to help improve this situation and cure more patients: The first is early detection, and that is done through check-ups with mammograms. On the other hand, when we have a suspicion, we should immediately go for an evaluation with a specialist so that it is detected as early as possible. The second is that through personalized and standard treatments, the treatment that the patient needs must be received so that the results improve. And a third lies in the education of patients so that they can have good information, make good decisions, adhere to the treatment and all this as a team with the doctor.
Something that worries experts is that breast cancer rates in young women, who are between 20 and 30, are increasing. What do you think about this?
Indeed, the trend with breast cancer is that it will increase both in women over 50 years old and in women under 50 years old. And there is a very significant proportion of very young women, 40 and under. It has been estimated that in our regions it is around 11% in very young women, which obviously impacts many spheres of life and different needs, such as the issue of fertility, sexuality, body image. It comes at a time when patients are in the midst of family and career development. So, we must definitely try to understand what the needs of these different patients are and in that sense help them so that this happens in a better way. For example, many times patients who have not had children or have not completed their family may have that possibility in the future, but it has to be planned from the beginning. And again, information is key, because there are times when for one reason or another the complete information does not reach the patients. But then, if they have that ability to have that information at hand, they can bring these special needs to the conversation with their doctors.
What do you think about this type of meeting in which doctors from many Spanish-speaking countries come together to share knowledge?
We are very happy that we were able to hold this meeting. It is the first version and the idea is that this will be repeated in the following years. We are happy because we feel very much like a family. Latinos, Hispanics, have a lot of charisma, a lot of opportunity to talk and doing so in our language is beneficial. Obviously when it happens in the United States there is a lot of enrichment of knowledge, but the part of sharing experiences, knowing opinions to be able to treat a patient and trying to collaborate in our region is very important. In addition to the fact that this is being transmitted virtually and well, that will encourage us to have better collaboration for the benefit of our patients and to achieve more research in our region.
How do you view the progress in research into this cancer?
The advances are very fast and very promising. We have definitely achieved many more treatments in recent years that have allowed us to cure more patients and, in addition, more patients with advanced cancer can live longer and with a better quality of life. Every time we go to a conference we learn something new that helps us make patients feel better and have a greater chance of being cured. So oncology moves so fast and that is why we need these meetings, to be at the forefront, to be up to date and for this to contribute to the care of our patients. And what I said about language is also very important, being able to exchange knowledge in the same language I think is much more beneficial and helps us a lot.