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.
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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 Onconecta and what is its purpose?
Onconecta is an initiative 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 is diagnosed with breast cancer and wants to look for information, they go to Google or Yahoo or start looking for information that is not necessarily true, scientific, up-to-date or in words that patients can understand. There is a lot more information in English, but in Spanish there is almost no data aimed at patients. So, that is how Onconecta began, as a platform that seeks to direct information to Spanish-speaking patients, 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 they can make informed decisions with their doctors.
How could this platform help breast cancer patients?
It has been seen that having access to accurate information improves 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. One thing that Onconecta 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, fills out a profile with her age, the type of cancer, the stage of cancer, and receives 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 which channels is Onconecta available?
Right now the platform is available on the web, social networks, and what we are looking for is for it to reach all the people it needs to reach. Don’t let it stay hidden like that. What we are looking for is for it to reach the patients, their families, and the doctors, because it will also help the doctors to make our consultation 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 not so much information is internalized. Then, when the patient gets home she can watch the material in detail, with educational videos, infographics, narrative videos, and this can really change the entire 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, with breast cancer the trend is for it to increase both in women over 50 years of age and in women under 50 years of age. 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 arrives at a time when patients are in full family and career development. So, we should definitely seek to understand what the needs of these patients are, who are different, and in that sense help them so that this happens in a better way. For example, many times patients who had not had children or had not completed their family may have that possibility in the future, but it must be planned from the beginning. And again, information is key, because there are times when for one reason or another complete information does not reach patients. But then, if they have the 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 meetings in which doctors from many Spanish-speaking countries converge 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 see the advances in research on 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.