Around 150 guests from medicine, science, politics and self -help followed the invitation of the Praevenire Health Forum and the city research institute “Urban Forum” and brought their expertise into lectures and panel discussions. The event highlighted Vienna as a leading location for oncological care and research as well as the challenges and success of the cancer supply in urban rooms.
Health needs innovation
“We have had a clear political will for the design of a high -quality healthcare system that is also the heart of a functioning society for decades,” says Mag. Renate Brauner, former Vice Mayor and President of the Urban Forum City Research Institute. The strong public health system in close cooperation with private and non -profit organizations has also proven itself in the crisis. “In order to keep it resilient in the future, knowledge and data-based further developments as well as investments in research and development are essential,” said Brauner.
Praevenire President Dr. Hans Jörg Schelling emphasizes the importance of Vienna as a research location and demands further efforts to expand digital health offers: “Only with more efficiency Vienna can Vienna be able to expand its pioneering role as a health metropolis.” Schelling particularly emphasizes the developments in oncology: ” which progress has been made here in recent years. In many cases, cancer is no longer a death sentence. “
Early detection decides
“One of eight women falls ill with breast cancer in Austria in the course of their lives,” says Univ.-Prof. Dr. Michael Gnant, breast cancer specialist at the Comprehensive Cancer Center of the MedUni Vienna and President of the Austrian Breast Cancer Group ABCSG (Austrian Breast and Colorectal Cancer Study Group) the relevance of the problem. The good news: “The 10-year survival rate of breast cancer patients is 80 percent and nobody needs to be afraid of the preventive examination,” warns Gnant to claim them. Because timely therapy increases the probability of survival – a fact that also reduces the costs for further care.
Early detection is also the means of choice when it comes to lung cancer. It is not only one of the most common types of cancer, but also that with the highest mortality rate. “In Austria, around 5,000 new cases and around 4,000 deaths are registered annually,” says Prim. Priv.-Doz. Dr. Arschang Valipour, specialist in internal medicine, pneumology and intensive care medicine, board of the Department of Internal Medicine and Pneumology at the Floridsdorf Clinic and Head of the Karl-Landsteiner Institute for Lung Research and Pneumological Oncology. The lack of awareness of the symptoms means that lung cancer is often only random findings and are therefore often only discovered at an advanced stage. “That would not be necessary because we have a very good infrastructure and a clear diagnostic-therapeutic path. We are the leaders in the international environment. ”He urgently demands a program for lung cancer detection in order to avoid the suffering of those affected and cost -intensive therapies in a late stage.
Rehabilitation: quality of life despite cancer
Due to the progress of modern cancer treatment with significantly increasing survival rates, many cancers have become chronic, manageable diseases and oncological rehabilitation plays a greater role. Oncological rehabilitation can effectively improve the physical and psychosocial functions as well as the quality of life and the participation of those affected. Cancer rehabilitation follows the survival -important oncological cancer treatment and then aims at the treatment of consequences of cancer and side effects of survival oncological therapies. Univ.-Prof. Dr. Richard Crevenna, MBA MMSC, head of the University Clinic for Physical Medicine, Rehabilitation and Occupational Medicine at the Medical University of Vienna, breaks a lance for early inter- and multidisciplinary cooperation. “It has to start early in the sense of oncological care in the sense of a prehistory abilitation, so that we use the period between diagnosis and treatment well to prepare the patients for the upcoming treatment as best as possible.”
Prähabilitation is therefore a modern strategy to enable cancer patients to better tolerate the necessary and sometimes very stressful treatment and also increase their compliance and adherence in all rehabilitation efforts during and after cancer treatment. This includes, for example, patient information and reduction, nutrition, psycho -oncology or movement and training therapy. Here he sees an important interface for work and company medicine, because many oncological patients are still in the middle of their professional life and want to be broken down. This can reduce postoperative complications, improve the quality of life and also minimize the follow -up costs for treatments. “There is currently a lack of resources and compliance,” says Crevenna the weaknesses of the concept. “In Vienna we were pioneers in active training therapy for people with bone and brain metastases”, the expert is happy and describes the credo with “Better in, Better Out” to ensure the social participation despite an oncological illness and ultimately also costs to reduce in the health system.
In the final panel discussion, the focus was on the importance and further development of oncological prehemilitation, rehabilitation, innovative follow-up models as well as the possibilities to improve the prehemilitation and rehabilitation offers in Vienna. In addition to Keynotespeaker Crevenna Dr. Monika Mustak-Blagusz (chief physician of the pension insurance institution), Mag. Elisabeth Potzmann (President of the Austrian Health and Nursing Association), Victoria Navratil (qualified health and nursing staff in the Favorite Clinic), Dr. Gudrun Wolner-Strohmeyer (chief physician of the public service insurance company, railways and mining, BVAEB), Margit Halbfurter, MSC do, President of the Austrian Society for Osteopathy and Univ.-Prof. Dr. Thomas Mück, Deputy General Director of the General accident insurance institution Auva.