The Minister of health, Jens Spahn (CDU) has defended his controversial prediction that cancer can be defeated in ten to 20 years. For this statement Spahn met with criticism from Health unions and the coalition.
In an interview with the "Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung" (Monday) he moved diseases Parallels to the fight against HIV: "I see in the cancer prevention and treatment Parallel to the advances in HIV: Who would have thought 30 years ago that the life expectancy can be a well-treated HIV infection so high as in the absence of infection?" Thanks to successful prevention work in Germany belong to the countries with the lowest HIV infection rates in the world.
"We want to beat cancer, by beherrschen" him;
Spahn said that through the use of Screening’m going to go back Offered, the number of new cases significantly. First of all, it is Screening the Bowel screening, in the coming year to cervical cancer. "We want to beat cancer, by controlling him." This will not be easy, but that’s exactly why "we must be brave and ambitious versuchen".
Spahns Statement made at the weekend continue to be for contradiction. Since the 1960s, there was always the statement that the disease could be defeated in the next 10 to 20 years, said the physician, Ulrich Keilholz the Newspapers of the Funke media group (Saturday). "This is a very General hope, which does not work so simply."
"Very massive Fortschritte" in cancer therapy
In addition to the efforts to cure cancer, be a second research direction is important, – stressed the head of the Comprehensive Cancer Center of the Berlin-based Charite: "The of the disease to Master, making it a chronic disease can can live with with the patients, accompanied by an appropriate therapy, for a very long time." To this goal, in part, already very well today.
The Director of the University Cancer Center of the University hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf, Carsten Bokemeyer, stated that it would " in the next ten years;very massive Fortschritte" in the cancer therapy. "But cancer is a scourge of humanity, which is created in the cells." With each new therapy, the cancer cells develop mechanisms to resist it.
Health associations criticize the statement Spahns
In the Bavarian broadcasting Spahn stressed that he wanted to "no illusions wecken". He find, but you should put ambitious targets. "It’s not about that at all, no cancer. But it’s about the cancer so far is to take the fear, because it’s just better treatment and therapy options, better early detection and prevention."
Spahn of the " had;Rhine Post" (Friday) said that there is a good chance that in ten to 20 years, cancer defeated. The medical progress is immense, the research is promising, said the Minister. The statement had drawn criticism from health organisations and from the government coalition.
