Cancer in Dagestan

Cancer. It evokes genuine fear, confusion, and misunderstanding in me. And I think it’s the same for many others. While videos, programs, and articles were written about AIDS and HIV, there is no outreach work being carried out with the population. Moreover, it is preventive. How does it appear, why, when can it be treated and what is it anyway?

I live in Dagestan. In a region where the number of cancer patients is relatively less than throughout the country, but the growth rate of cases exceeds, according to various sources, up to 4 (up to 5.6 among children) times the statistical average in Russia.

I live in Dagestan and I don’t know a single family that would not be affected by this disaster in one way or another.

And one more thing. I live in a Republic that has an excellent climate, landscape and natural conditions, but at the same time, thanks to the predatory attitude towards its wealth, we have an excess of a number of heavy metals, phenols, formaldehydes and nitrates in water, air, and soil. At the same time, the statements of experts on the issue of the spread of cancer in the region are directly opposite.

In his interview for New Business, the chief physician of the Republican Oncology Dispensary (ROD), Alexander Tereshchenko, said: “Rumors about the rapid growth in the number of cancer diseases in Dagestan are greatly exaggerated. Judge for yourself, the incidence rate in the republic today is 132.9 cases per 100 thousand population. This 2.5 times lower than in Russia as a whole (355 per 100 thousand). As for various rumors, you should not believe them. Moreover, no one has yet established what causes cancer. At one time, environmentalists sounded the alarm. “that the reason for the growth of oncology in the Kulinsky district is asbestos, in particular, contained in slate: supposedly residents use rainwater that flows from the roofs for domestic purposes. But the validity of this version, like many others, has not been proven by anyone.” And the following: “The increase in the number of patients is considered a good indicator, since it means an improvement in the quality of registration,” says Zaira Makhmudova, deputy chief physician for methodological work of the ROP. “In our opinion, the incidence trend in these years is quite stable. Unfortunately, The population has the opinion that if a person has cancer, then he must die. This is not true, medicine has advanced far, there are opportunities to treat diseases, especially at stages 1-2. More than 40% of cancer patients in Dagestan live more than five years. years without relapses, this is almost the same as cure. I see the main problem of Dagestan oncology in the fact that almost half of the newly diagnosed patients are patients with an advanced form of the disease (stage 3-4). Last year, for example, there were 1800 of them. -1900 people. Such people can only be provided with palliative or symptomatic care, improving the quality of life, but it is impossible to prolong its life. Last year, 1954 patients died from cancer. In the structure of mortality of the population of the republic, malignant neoplasms consistently occupy second place. Of course, we are striving to reduce the mortality rate, which last year amounted to 65.6 cases per 100 thousand population." (http://www.arhiv.ndelo.ru/one_stat.php?id=6449). The words stuck in my head : stable growth, detection in late stages, causes of diseases have not been established, theories have not been proven. Let's move on...

Ecologist, professor, dean of the Faculty of Ecology at DSU Gairbek Abdurakhmanov (author of the book “Ecological-geographical conditionality and forecast of the incidence of malignant neoplasms”) says the following. Abdurakhmanov G. analyzed data at the Ministry of Health and studied the quality of living conditions - this includes air and water, soil and vegetation. An analysis of long-term data from 1971 to 2008 shows that the number of cancer patients has almost doubled. The highest rates are typical for the rural population of Babayurt, Buynak, Kizlyar, Kumtorkalinsky and even the mountainous Kulinsky. Gairbek Abdurakhmanov claims that, first of all, people who drink unfiltered water, which most often contains heavy metals and impurities, are susceptible to cancer. (http://www.rgvktv.ru/news/5581).

While I was getting acquainted with this topic, I was struck by the inconsistency of the numbers. Sources cite completely different data and characterize the situation differently. Although I think that there is certainly little positive here. Detection of a disease in late stages is one problem, but the appearance of cancer itself is another. Let's take, for example, environmental problems in the region, which cannot but be the cause of oncology.

1. Lack of a waste recycling plant.

To date, none of the landfills for disposal of solid household waste in Dagestan meets sanitary standards and rules. The construction of new landfills and plants for processing household waste is not being carried out in the republic, and therefore new places for the formation of spontaneous waste dumps are observed, resulting in pollution and littering of land plots adjacent to the landfills. We are drowning in garbage, gentlemen! (And it’s scary to even think about medical waste.)

2. Development of Kizil-Dere.

As a result of mining work carried out in the upper reaches of the Akhty-chay River in the Khnov-Borchinsky ore district in the period from 1964 to 1983, boreholes and adit networks remained abandoned and unprotected. Because of this, chemical pollution of the waters of the Akhty-Chai and Samur rivers and irrigated lands in their valleys occurs with heavy metal ions, and through this, the poisoning of agricultural and livestock products grown in these territories, and, consequently, of the entire population living in this region.

3. Lack of sewerage system.

Wastewater flowing into the sea and rivers, Buinaksk and villages where there is no sewerage system at all, Makhachkala, whose systems have long been unable to withstand population growth: all this waste tends to evaporate and affect human health.

4. The former Chiryurt phosphorus salts plant, and now OJSC "Dagfos" in Kizilyurt, which has an adverse effect on the health of townspeople.

5. More than 3,500 thousand groundwater wells, the lion's share of which are not registered and the quality of the water consumed from them has not been studied.

This is off the top of my head. This is what came to mind, and what I know and am afraid of. And there are probably more reasons. This is due to the fact that it is not customary for us to protect ourselves from the sun (in the summer we do not carry umbrellas or cover ourselves), this is also the failure to comply with safety precautions and sanitary standards, failure to observe a healthy lifestyle and hygiene rules. But this is all about an adult. This all happens over time. But children also get sick.

In my opinion. The state’s position on this issue is to turn a blind eye. Because any steps to solve this problem will cost a lot of money. It would be great if our citizens did not go abroad for treatment, so that this year was declared the year of the fight against cancer and the position of the authorities was somehow designated differently. We need programs, funding, and work in this direction. Or else we will end up with cancer as common as the flu or a sore throat.

In the meantime, the situation remains the same, all we can do is support each other.

Since February 7, a charity fundraiser organized by bloggers to help children with cancer, “A Piece of Us,” has been taking place in Dagestan. The campaign is timed to coincide with February 15 - World Children with Cancer Day and will continue for a long time.

“The other day, while communicating with friends on Twitter, we came up with an idea - to organize a fundraiser for children with cancer. The action was called “Part of Us.” The funds collected will be transferred to 14-year-old Ira Surmaeva from Kizlyar, who is sick with cancer. everyone can take part. Funds can be transferred to Qiwi wallet account 9882083636, or transferred personally to the organizers, and we will transfer them to her parents,” said Nurlan Aliyev.