Learning About Intermediate Stage Cancer
Cancer is one of the illnesses that are increasing at a worrying pace in Malaysia. In 2020, there were a total of almost 49,000 cancer cases in Malaysia, as reported by WHO. The leading types of cancer are breast, colorectal and lung cancer.
Although the chances of developing cancer are not significantly high, it is still important for us to know about this disease. Furthermore, it is advisable to be prepared for it from a financial point of view.
What is Intermediate Stage Cancer?
In order to better plan treatment strategies, medical practitioners have come up with a way to describe how severe the cancer has developed the moment that it is first detected.
There are currently about 5 stages to describe a tumor’s growth and reach. It begins with Stage 0, whereby there is no cancer and only cells with the potential to become cancer.
The subsequent stages are designated with Roman numerals. Stage I is cancer that is localized in one area, whereas stage II and II is when the cancer has spread to nearby tissues and lymph nodes.
The most severe stage is Stage IV which is when the cancer has spread to other parts of the body or organs.
Stage II and III is also widely known as intermediate stage cancer. At this stage, the prognosis for remission and recovery still exists. It depends very much on how your body responds to the treatment strategies proposed by your doctor, as well as many other factors like lifestyle, your immune system and so on.
Source: xFrame
Why Do We Need to Know Intermediate Stage Cancer?
In the treatment of cancer, staging is very important to know for a variety of reasons. Here are some of them that are relevant to both you and your doctor:
Understanding the prognosis, i.e. what the chances of remission and recovery
Knowing whether or not the cancer will return, and whether it has a chance of spreading to other tissues and organs in the body.
Allow doctors to plan and strategize treatment approaches, or a combination of treatment approaches that work best for you.
Finding out if there are any new treatment methods still in their clinical trials that can be tried out.
Assess treatment methods and compare them to others with the same type of cancer and similar stage.
Discussing and understanding all aspects of your intermediate cancer stage with your doctor, as well as understanding fully all the cancer treatment procedures available will allow you to have more control over your disease and its cure.
How is Intermediate Stage Cancer Determined?
When you present to an oncologist (a cancer specialist) with symptoms, you will have to be put through a set of tests and assessments before a cancer diagnosis can be achieved. The stage of a cancerous growth doesn’t necessarily have to be determined at the beginning of treatment. There are several different times when your doctor can determine your stage of cancer:
1. Clinical Staging
This is the part before any treatment is carried out. At this stage, the doctor will carry out the following in order to get a definitive diagnosis:
Physical examination
Ask about your medical history
Blood tests
Imaging, including MRI, CAT scans and X-rays
Biopsy results, which is the examination of cell samples from the affected area.
Based on this, they may or may not be able to fully determine the stage of your cancer. Sometimes, you will need additional information from the other periods of care. At this stage however, there should be enough information to determine the first types of treatments.
Source: xFrame
2. Pathological Staging
The pathology stage adds information to the clinical staging phase, and confirms whether the information gathered at the clinical stage is correct or not. This part of the process collects information from surgical procedures when surgery is one of the first treatments carried out.
Surgical information is very helpful as it allows your doctor to see for themselves directly the advancement of your tumor and the appearance of cancer cells in the surrounding tissue.
Source: xFrame
3. Post-Therapy Staging
Sometimes, your doctor will decide that you need other types of treatment to cause the growth to shrink before it is removed, as this makes the removal process easier. Examples of therapies at this stage include immunotherapy, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and hormone therapy.
Post therapy staging gathers information on your cancer stage based on its reactions to these therapies
Remember that your cancer stage can be re-staged if any new information comes in throughout your entire care period. Often, pathological and post-therapy gives the most information about your intermediate cancer stage, as compared to the preclinical stage.
What are the Costs Like Intermediate Cancer Treatment in Malaysia?
Many people assume that if a cancer is at an earlier stage, care and treatment will cost less than if it is at a more advanced stage.
This is not necessarily true. The cost of cancer treatment varies from individual to individual, depending on how well your body responds to treatment and procedures prescribed by the medical practitioners. There are also other factors, such as where you obtain your medical care from.
Some examples of cancer treatment costs in government hospital are as listed below:
Lymph node cancer ( Lymphoma): Up to RM95,000
Nasopharyngeal cancer: Up to RM70,000
Breast cancer : Up to RM390,000
Colorectal cancer; Up to RM85,000
Lung cancer: Up to RM56,000
According to this study done in 2019, the cost for treating colorectal cancer in a government hospital in Malaysia was around RM13,672 for stage I, and increasing to RM 27,972 for stage IV. The highest costs were incurred by patients with stage III ( upper intermediate) onwards. This study conformed to the notion that the earlier your cancer is detected and the lower its stage, the more affordable it will be.
Protecting Yourself with Insurance
When you’re diagnosed with intermediate stage cancer, prognosis improves if you can get the care and treatment you need as soon as possible.
That’s why it’s good to be prepared and cover yourself with the appropriate cancer related medical insurance, including policies for critical illnesses and those especially packaged for cancer.