It’s been 24 years since the Paris Charter Against Cancer was first signed. In those nearly two and a half decades, cancer research and treatments have seen quite a bit of progress. Professor Khayat reflects on the creation and effect of the charter, what still needs to be done in order to meet the Charter’s goals for cancer treatment and research.
When the Paris Charter Against Cancer came into fruition, the goal for Professor Khayat and his associates Dr. Peter Harper and Dr. Gabriel Hortobagyi was to put cancer on the map for the public. He wanted to emphasize that cancer isn’t just another disease, but a serious concern for the public that needed its attention and help in order to be able to treat patients and combat the illness more effectively. Cancer research was lacking the attention and funding it needed in order to be able to prevent it and treat people effectively, so the charter was created in order to get medical professionals, organizations, and nations behind this idea to combat cancer.
“When I started to become an oncologist like [Dr.Harper] and [Dr.Hortobagyi] there was noting to know because the pages of the cancer books were white… We even thought that maybe cancer was contagious. The surgeons were amputating everything; the breast, the leg, the arm, everything. The radiotherapists were burning the tissue because the ballistics were not good and finally we didn’t know nothing…”
Professor Khayat
Since then, much has been discovered on this disease and how to combat it that the empty books are a thing of a past. The signing of the charter and the creation of World Cancer Day subsequently has had a profound impact globally on how we approach cancer research and treatments. Professor Khayat vividly remembers that when the idea of the charter was first conceived, no one had thought that it would become this big, as he and his co-founders had very little means of promoting it. For the charter to become World Cancer Day and lead the way for innovation and research in the last 24 years was not expected.
“…the fact that one day every year the media are focusing at least a little bit on cancer is very significant.”
Professor David Khayat on the significance of World Cancer Day.
When asked what he thinks the future of the charter is, Professor Khayat expressed wishing to modernize the charter, and perhaps once again, 25 years later, get patients and their families involved with it as well since they are the ones affected the most by the charter and the disease. There is also a hope and an emphasis on more collaborative aid efforts amongst nations, in particular as a various predictions and studies show that in the coming years, the majority of cancer patients will be living in middle- or low-GDP countries, which might not have the medical infrastructures to adequately diagnose and treat all the patients effectively.
“It is true that for instance in Africa the media age is relatively lower than in our countries, so there are less cancer cases, but the forecast by the WHO is saying that 75% of the cancer deaths that will occur in the future will happen in countries that all together make up less than 5% of the world GDP, meaning that the poorest countries are going to pay the most important cost to cancer so we have to help them prepare.”
Professor Khayat
Also in his hopes for the future of the charter, and cancer treatment in general, is a desire for more emphasis on prevention. Professor Khayat is of the same opinion as Dr. Harper in the sense that there needs to be a more discussion and education on harm reduction and things for prevention that the average person can do in their day-to-day life in order to reduce their risk of developing cancer or increase their chance at an early diagnosis and treatment. It’s evident that there are so many little things a person may do that can have a significant impact on a person’s risk for developing cancer that the average person may not be aware of, so distributing that information is absolutely essential in his view. That’s not to say the focus should be taken away from cancer research and treatment, as that is always essential and needs to be continued, especially as the International Agency for Research on Cancer predicts a 77% surge of cancer cases by 2050.
Another key point for him is that doctors need humanity when dealing with cancer patients. It is already a difficult disease for people to deal with, as it can also have significant ramifications for a patient and their family in the long run, so that element of humanity and respect is absolutely essential in his view. Furthermore, this humanity is also something he hope would translate to helping other countries develop their own treatment plans and medical infrastructure to treat their patients.
“They forget a little bit that they are talking to men and women and children and I see that every day in my practice and [Dr. Harper] too, so we have to remember that they key element of a successful relationship between an oncologists or doctor and his patient is his humanity, his respect.”
Professor David Khayat
It’s all those elements working in tandem that will allow the charter and people to continue doing what has been done in the last 24 years, which is created more effective treatments, improve the level of patient care, improve the accessibility of treatments to patients, etc. This in combination with a humanitarian approach to helping other nations, dealing with current and future cancer patients, improving early diagnosis and screening protocols along with educating on prevention and harm reduction is what Professor Khayat sees in the coming years in order to continually and effectively make progress in the prevention and treatment of such a widespread issue such as cancer.