Cancer is a serious illness that turns many lives upside down every day. Preventing, treating and curing cancer is complex. Despite impressive progress in treatment options, the words "you have cancer" still bring with them a lot of uncertainty. For Janssen, oncology is an important area of expertise where the need for effective treatments is still very high. In the field of oncology, we currently focus on treatments against various forms of blood cancer, prostate cancer, lung and bladder cancer.

Diagnosis of blood cancer

Blood cancer occurs in many different forms, but the three most common forms are leukemia, lymphoma and multiple myeloma (also known as Kahler's disease)¹. In 2017, 3% of the more than 67,000 new cases of cancer in Belgium concerned leukemia².

People with blood cancer often consult their doctor with symptoms such as anemia, increased susceptibility to infections and fatigue. These symptoms are the result of the disruption of the development of blood cells by different forms of blood cancer: cancer cells disturb the balance. Blood cancer is therefore a profound type of cancer, threatening vital bodily functions. A “blood cancer” diagnosis therefore has major consequences. In 2016, 28,560 people died of cancer in our country, 1,038 of whom died of leukemia^3,4. Still, the outlook for patients with blood cancer is improving every day, thanks to the increased availability of targeted treatments, the use of immunotherapies and because of blood transfusions and bone marrow transplants.

Victories over Cancer

Janssen has been active in the field of oncology since 1988, trying to make types of cancer like blood cancer treatable and even curable diseases. We remain committed to a future in which doctors and patients mainly discuss how you can live with (or even after) cancer, so that the diagnosis of blood cancer will become less drastic. Until then, we're working hard to achieve victories over cancer, big or small. Together with researchers, specialists, and patient organizations, we continue to work on medical breakthroughs in the prevention, rapid diagnosis, and treatment of blood cancer. We regularly report these small and big victories over cancer: from successful collaborations with blood cancer patient organizations to groundbreaking scientific discoveries. That’s how we contribute to victories over blood cancer.

More information about Janssen

Read more about our activities in the field of oncology, such as prostate cancer, and about our other areas of expertise. You can also learn more about Janssen's activities in Belgium and what working at Janssen looks like. You can also follow us via social media on Twitter,Facebook and LinkedIn to stay up to date with current developments.

EM-37302 - 07-jul-2020