The book “Is it cancer and now?”launched this Tuesday in Porto, more than a reflection of the 30 years of clinical practice of co-author António Araújo, it aims to answer, in a simple way, the questions of patients, family members and caregivers.
The director of the Oncology service of the Santo António Hospital, who signed the book together with the nutritionist Ana Rita Lopes, spoke with Lusa about the work she assumes “a practical guide”.
“This is a book that tries to transmit to patients, family members, people who have friends with cancer diseases in a simple way the scientific teachings that exist”, described the specialist.
According to the book’s co-author, this was “Ordered three years ago” by a cancer patient whom he treated and to whom he dedicates the work, Rita, and who challenged him to write to give “simple answers” to anyone suffering from this disease.
This effort, listed António Araújo, resulted in answers about “what is cancer, how does it develop, how is the diagnosis made, what signs and symptoms can people have, why is staging done.” [avaliação da extensão do cancro] And what is this for?
“They are all questions that patients ask us on a daily basis,” said the director of the Oncology service, also recalling the questions “why do I have to undergo chemotherapy, what is chemotherapy, immunotherapy” whose answers are part of the book .
Nutrition is also carried out, answering “all the questions that patients ask us about diets, what can and cannot be eaten, alkaline diets, what can be drunk, fruits, etc,” he adds.
“In our clinical life we have been collecting a series of questions that patients have always asked us and we have tried in this book to give them an answer, a scientific answer, based on scientific evidence,” said António Araújo, who also pointed out the fact that at the end of the work there is a bibliography that patients can – if they want to deepen their knowledge – consult.
The idea of the book, he confessed to Lusa, “has been germinating for some time”but it was from the conversation he had with the patient and the need she had that he realized and decided to move on.
The presentation is scheduled for 6:30 p.m., in the auditorium of the Almeida Garrett Municipal Library, in the gardens of the Palacio de Cristal, in Porto.
Source: Observadora
