Reporter: Doctor, how does cancer develop and what will the patient suffer if not treated or when treated with current methods?
Dr. Jaime A. Galvez Tan: “Cancer is not just a tumor, it is a process of silently destroying each part of the body”
In the early stages, cancer can silently develop in the body without causing obvious symptoms. But when the tumor begins to grow, it compresses healthy tissues, damages nerves, causing severe and persistent pain. Patients begin to feel dull pain, insomnia, prolonged fatigue, and gradually lose weight, have poor appetite, and become physically exhausted.
More seriously, cancer cells can invade surrounding tissues or metastasize to other organs such as the liver, lungs, and bones, making the condition even more dangerous. The pain is no longer just in one place – it spreads, the patient has pain when breathing, pain when eating, pain when moving, even pain to the point of not being able to sleep normally.
During the treatment process, whether chemotherapy, radiation therapy or surgery – the patient’s body continues to endure severe side effects: vomiting, hair loss, mouth ulcers, constant fever, and a severely weakened immune system. The moments of lucidity are also the times when the patient has to fight against weakness and exhaustion both physically and mentally.
“Cancer does not just attack one organ, it drains the patient’s vitality every day, physically, mentally and hopelessly.”