A group of oncologists, patients and advocates is meeting in Kingston, Ont., this week to discuss a revolutionary idea in cancer treatment: maybe oncologists should encourage less treatment for patients in order to focus on quality of life and care.
Dr. Christopher Booth, a medical oncologist and health services researcher at Queen鈥檚 University and the co-leader of the very first Common Sense Oncology Symposium, believes cancer patients are often given treatments that, in the long run, only offer very small benefits.
鈥淢ost of the treatments that we strongly support are the standard treatments: surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy and new cancer medicines,鈥 Booth told CTV鈥檚 Your Morning on Tuesday. 鈥淏ut increasingly, some of our new treatments might not even help people live any longer or improve their quality of life. They might shrink tumours on a CAT scan for a couple of months, but that's a very different outcome than what many patients and their families would want.鈥
Booth said many patients want to have honest conversations and make informed decisions about how they spend their time, especially patients with terminal diagnoses, but often those conversations aren鈥檛 happening in oncology medicine.
鈥淲e're not proposing we have the answers for what a patient would want,鈥 Booth said. 鈥淲e just think we need to have a better conversation so that patients have the information they need to make the decision that's best for them.鈥
Booth described three major problems with how the oncology field currently treats cancer patients in a Queen鈥檚 University鈥檚 presentation called Research Talks, where researchers at the university give 鈥淭ED-style talks鈥 using 鈥渋nnovative research鈥 to students, faculty and community members.
The first problem Booth outlined is that people from worse socio-economic groups or poorer countries and regions are more likely to develop 鈥渨orse cancers with worse outcomes.鈥
The second is that many cancer treatments do not provide a sufficient 鈥渢ime trade off鈥 for patients, as patients often spend their remaining time undergoing treatments instead of 鈥渂eing with their loved ones or having experiences.鈥
Lastly, Booth described the astronomical cost some of these cancer treatments can tally up, which affects 鈥渂oth patients and the overall medical system.鈥 For example, he said one drug costs over $100,000 and causes 鈥渢errible鈥 side effects and 鈥渙nly improves survival by 10 days.鈥
The symposium will feature talks with 30 oncologists and patient advocates from 15 different countries.
鈥淲e thought it was time to have an open conversation about these things and work with patients to understand how we can best give them the information they need to make the best decisions possible.鈥
The Canadian Cancer Society says 1.5 million people in Canada 鈥渓ive with or beyond鈥 cancer today.
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Unusual flippered feet are making their way into the Saint Lawrence River this weekend. Led by underwater explorer and filmmaker Nathalie Lasselin, volunteer divers are combing the riverbed near Beauharnois in Mont茅r茅gie to remove hundreds of tires that have been polluting the aquatic environment for decades.
The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah announced that it fired a barrage of missiles at a military base deep inside Israel early Sunday following an Israeli airstrike more than a day earlier that killed at least 37 people, including one of the militant group鈥檚 senior leaders as well as women and children.
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The British Columbia election campaign is set to officially start today, with Lt.-Gov. Janet Austin issuing the writ for the Oct. 19 vote.
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A northern Ontario man is facing a $12,000 fine after illegally shooting a moose near the Batchawan River.
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Donald Trump returned to North Carolina on Saturday, stumping in the southern battleground state with direct appeals to women, claiming he would be a better champion for them than U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, who is vying to become the first female president.
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The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah announced that it fired a barrage of missiles at a military base deep inside Israel early Sunday following an Israeli airstrike more than a day earlier that killed at least 37 people, including one of the militant group鈥檚 senior leaders as well as women and children.
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Lebanese authorities on Thursday banned walkie-talkies and pagers from being taken on flights from Beirut airport, the National News Agency reported, after thousands of such devices exploded during a deadly attack on Hezbollah this week.
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Tattoos are becoming more common in today's society and, as a result, appear to be more acceptable in the workplace than they used to be.
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The Red Bridge, a historic landmark in Kamloops, B.C., was completely destroyed by fire early Thursday morning.
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Lethbridge County has rescinded its fire restriction as a result of the recent cool, wet weathr.
The Lethbridge Hurricanes kicked off the 2024-25 season on a winning note Friday night, defeating the Edmonton Oil Kings 3-1 in a game played at VisitLethbridge.com Arena.
A northern Ontario man is facing a $12,000 fine after illegally shooting a moose near the Batchawan River.
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Jim Lester鈥檚 farm hopped on the cow-cuddling trend in early August, and his time slots have been pretty well sold out ever since.
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