a revolutionary new
breast cancer treatment that takes five minutes to administer is lightening the load on england’s healthcare system while reducing the risk of patients contracting covid-19 in hospital.
the treatment, known as phesgo, is being offered by the country’s national health service to people who are undergoing chemotherapy for her2-positive breast cancer,
according to science focus
. this form of breast cancer, which accounts for around 20 per cent of all breast cancer diagnoses, occurs when cancer cells have extra copies of the protein that makes the her2 protein,
according to the mayo clinic
. this protein promotes the growth of cancerous cells and makes it a particularly aggressive form of the disease. treatments targeting this form of breast cancer have proven very effective. now, they’re more efficient, too.
phesgo breast cancer treatment
“this five-minute injection will be life-changing for cancer patients across the country, allowing them to spend more time away from the hospital and with their loved ones,” said matt hancock, england’s health secretary.
breast cancer is the most common form of cancer among canadian women after non-melanoma skin cancer, with just under 27,000 new cases — and 5,000 deaths — estimated to have occurred in 2019 by the
public health agency of canada
. around one in eight women will develop breast cancer at some point in their lives, with one in 33 succumbing to it. the disease accounts for 25 per cent of new cancer cases and 13 per cent of cancer deaths among canadian women.