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 prostate cancer, various forms of blood cancer, lung cancer and bladder cancer.

Diagnosis of prostate cancer

In 2017, 9.464 Belgian men (50+) were diagnosed with prostate cancer by their doctor¹. This makes prostate cancer one of the most common cancers in men². The prostate, a gland the size of a walnut located under the bladder, is important for reproduction. The three most common conditions of the prostate are prostatitis, benign prostate enlargement (benign prostate hyperplasia; BPH) or prostate cancer³. Prostate cancer is usually not accompanied by any specific symptoms or complaints. It therefore often goes unnoticed for a long time or is only detected by chance⁴.

Prostate cancer is a relatively slow-growing form of cancer. It is often only discovered because metastases in other parts of the body cause symptoms⁴. Despite this slow growth, prostate cancer can very well be deadly. The chance of survival depends partly on the stage the disease is in⁵. The diagnosis is therefore accompanied by a great deal of uncertainty. In addition to physical symptoms, many men with prostate cancer also experience psychosocial complaints.

If it's up to us, the drastic diagnosis of prostate cancer changes. Janssen is working hard to better understand this condition and to develop new treatments, especially for those forms that are now difficult to treat.

Victories over prostate cancer 

Janssen has been active in the field of oncology since 1988, trying to make types of cancer like prostate 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 words "you have blood cancer become less profound than right now. 

Until then, we're working hard to achieve victories over cancer, big or small. We don't achieve these Victories over Cancer by ourselves - we do it together with committed researchers, specialists and patient organizations in the field of oncology. For example, Janssen is currently working with pan-European patient organizations on the 'Living Longer, Living Stronger' campaign to develop tools to support men with prostate cancer in all stages of the disease. As far as we are concerned, these everyday victories go hand in hand with medical breakthroughs in the prevention, rapid diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer. We regularly report small and big victories over cancer: from successful collaborations with patient organizations dealing with prostate cancer to groundbreaking scientific discoveries.

More information about Janssen  

Read more about our activities in the field of oncology, such as blood 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.

Sources:
¹ https://kankerregister.org/media/docs/CancerBurdenfeb2020reduced_new.pdf
² https://www.wcrf.org/dietandcancer/cancer-trends/worldwide-cancer-data#:~:text=Lung%20and%20breast%20cancers%20were,million%20new%20cases%20in%202018.
³ https://www.uzgent.be/nl/zorgaanbod/mdspecialismen/Urologie/Uro-oncologie/Paginas/Aandoeningen-Prostaat.aspx
⁴ https://www.kanker.be/alles-over-kanker/alle-types-kanker/prostaatkanker/symptomen
⁵ https://www.allesoverkanker.be/kans-op-genezing-bij-prostaatkanker-en-meer-info
⁶ https://statbel.fgov.be/nl/themas/bevolking/sterfte-en-levensverwachting/doodsoorzaken#figures  

EM-37301  - 7-jul-2020