Author: Dallandyshe Xhaferri
Last year, 3 people lost their lives, not being able to win the battle against the tumor. Official figures INSTAT show that those who did not make it through this serious disease are otherwise 11.2% of the population, an estimate that ranks tumors in the fourth largest group of causes of death.
In the 'Tumors' group, the highest percentage is the subgroup of 'malignant tumors of the digestive system', with 35,2% and 'malignant tumors of the respiratory system' with 23,7%,"- is written in the INSTAT report. The onco-gynecologist, Euglent Hoxha, repeats for "Sinjalizo" that during 1 year, around 100 young women are diagnosed with cancer of the uterus, cervix and ovaries in the country. But according to the publications of Ministry of Health for the 2021 annual report, the cervical cancer screening service was covered for 14 women, while the breast cancer screening service was covered for 000 women.
"The mortality rate for the disease group 'Tumor' is 151,9 deaths for men and 92,3 deaths for women per 100 thousand inhabitants",- it is stated in the publication of INSTAT, while according to Ministry of Health and Social Protection, 1 in 8 women are diagnosed with breast cancer.
Lives changed
For Alisa, pink October is cancer awareness month and she doesn't look at it with indifference like before. She had a suitcase full of dreams. "A ticket to Florence, the Albanian passport and a suitcase full of clothes for the four seasons”, this was the image of the girl with curls about starting a new life in Italy. A week before she traveled to this new chapter, another grim chapter awaited the 21-year-old. Doctors who diagnosed him with a tumor told him the news.
"There I realized that the real challenges awaited me in my own land, not across the sea", - remembers for "Sinjalizo" Alisa, the 21-year-old girl who caught everything at the right time and therefore succeeded. She hadn't seen so many messages about mammograms and awareness until the day she came out of her "dream world" and discovered that the tumor was in her body.
Today, the headscarf with green flowers has replaced the curls flowing down the back. But it has not faded at all the smile that accompanies Alisa during the signaling about the 'forgetfulness' of patients affected by the tumor in the other 11 months of the year.
"On the morning of February 18, I went to the emergency room in Tirana after having a high temperature and severe abdominal pain for four days.", - says Alisa, who admits that although these pains had accompanied her for months, she had never gone to the health center, until the moment they became unbearable. "I didn't go to visit even though I felt that something was wrong with my body, but I live in a small village in Tirana and I was afraid of the reaction of others"- she explains.
"The doctor who did the echo gave me a referral to the maternity ward, as he didn't like the size of the mass he saw inside me. But I turned to the private"- she says, adding that "test results are more accurately explained when the doctor is paid directly by the patient". "I performed the operation to remove the tumor mass at 'Surgery 1' after almost a week of being hospitalized",- she adds, stressing that the low number of white blood cells did not help the doctors to understand at which stage the development of the tumor mass was.
A war that requires money
"The operation went successfully and then I underwent 4 chemotherapy sessions", - informs Alisa, who admits that "the fight of her life cost her almost 5 million old lek".
"At QSUT, the doctors were very close, but my parents were worried about whether or not I would receive proper care, so they paid 5 thousand to 20 thousand lek to the nurses, doctors and sanitary workers every day."- she says, adding that her mother's sentence "take a good look at my daughter” accompanied him during the 7 months of intensive treatment.
"I didn't pay anything for the treatments done inside the hospital building, but to enter the scanner without a queue I paid 100 thousand old lek", - informs Alisa, who admits that she had to buy expensive medicines that were not available in the hospital.
"'Blemisin' was very difficult to find in the hospital", - she underlines, also adding that she was unable to provide it even legally in some pharmacies in the capital. "With great difficulty I managed to find it illegally, without the official stamp placed by the Albanian authorities", she says, adding that only 2 vials of this medication cost her 100 old lek, which cannot be reimbursed.
"After each session, I did whole-body tests, which cost up to 100 old lek, while to increase the number of white blood cells in the blood, I bought 50 lek a medication.", she concludes.
Contraband and refund
According to oncologist Artan Çomo, the purchase of contraband medications, besides being a criminal offense, is also a risk for patients.
"Hospital treatments are approved by WHO and the Organization of Oncologists, we as a country have been following the same treatment scheme as western countries for years",- says Çomo, emphasizing that state medicines are controlled and reimbursable, unlike those that can be bought on the black market.
On the other hand, Donjeta Zeqa, President of the Albanian branch of "Europa Donna" where Albania is a member with 46 European countries, tells "Sinjalizo" that 7 years ago she found another solution. Zeqa's efforts are related to advocacy and lobbying about breast cancer.
"The first contact with breast cancer was more than 20 years ago, when my aunt was diagnosed", - tells Zeqa who claims that "the experience was traumatic and the information very little". "What hit me the most was my mother's diagnosis 12 years ago", she adds, affirming that both women in her life managed to win the fight with cancer, but even after these years, the cooperation of state institutions with organizations that focus on the same topics is not at the right level.
"They need to be real supporters and work with the organizations, not 'fear' them"- says Zeqa, emphasizing that organizations should be part of the tables where decisions are made for patients"as it is the only way for everyone to work together for a single goal: patient",- she concludes, showing that the requests of women and girls who turn to this organization for wigs are greater than they can fulfill.
Oncologist: Mammograms must be performed
"All girls and women between the ages of 18 and 20 should do a self-examination in the first week of menstruation"- says oncologist Artan Çomo, who emphasizes that breast tumor is a complex disease, as cancerous cells can remain hidden for 7 to 9 years.
"When the cell is under 0.5 centimeters, the patient is unable to distinguish it, but when the size goes up to 1 centimeter, any woman can distinguish it.", he says, explaining that the self-examination can be done in front of the mirror, in the shower or lying down.
"This disease can last for years, so you should give up the mentality that these formations are accompanied by pain and that "it is better not to disturb the mass"", he explains, showing that 700 women in the country are diagnosed with breast cancer every year, but most of them end successfully.
"The earlier the disease is diagnosed, the less expensive the treatment plans are", Çomo clarifies, underlining that in the first stages, when the cells are not aggressive, the mass can be removed locally and the anatomical function of the breast can be preserved.
"As an oncologist, he insists that mammography must be done for women who have more pronounced risk factors",- says Çomo, adding that some of these factors can be "the first menstruation that came too early, the last menstruation that comes late, pregnancy over the age of 35 and uncontrollable use of contraceptives".
"Here we can also include the genetic disorder (mutation) BRCA1 and BRCA2", concludes Çomo, showing that still in Albania the examination of this disorder can still only be done in private clinics and cannot be reimbursed by the state.
