A local oncologist with 30 years clinical experience in diagnosing and treating cancer, Dr. Robert Gagliano, predicts the number of new Verde Valley cancer patients will continue to increase for the next couple of decades as members of the baby boom generation grow old and become more susceptible to the disease.
“A 75-year-old person is 100 times more likely to develop colon cancer than a 25-year-old,” Gagliano said. “Because people are living longer today than they did 50 or 100 years ago, they have a longer exposure time to factors that may promote gene changes linked to cancer.”
The graying of the population will cause an increasing number of reported cancer cases, but the cancer rate should remain steady or even drop because it takes into account the youth, who are much less likely to contract cancer.
Given the widespread impact of the disease, Gagliano’s lecture, “Understanding Cancer,” comes at good time for people seeking information about how to help themselves or someone they care about deal with the illness, Gagliano said.
Among the first questions someone diagnosed with cancer often ask are “Is there a treatment?” and “How successful is it?” Everyone wants to know how long they have to live, Galiano said.
The lecture describes cancer pathology and the types of treatments available to combat the disease starting at 6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 12, in Verde Valley Medical Center Conference Room B, 269 S. Candy Lane.
Gagliano said he will cover the basics of cancer biology, causes, diagnosis, detection and prevention. There also will be time for questions and answers.
Which tests do the best job of predicting susceptibility to cancer? When is a tumor considered malignant? How does chemotherapy work? Gagliano will be available to discuss and explain the answers to each of these questions.
Board-certified in medical oncology and internal medicine, Gagliano specializes in cancer consultation, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, immune therapy and biologic therapy.
Gagliano is a member of American Society of Clinical Oncology, American Medical Association and Arizona Medical Association. He has been a VVMC medical staff member since 1997.
Gagliano speaks as part of The Cottonwood Lecture Series, sponsored by VVMC. The series offers various health-related educational topics to benefit the community. Lectures feature prominent speakers who are experts in their field.
To learn more about the programs and services offered at Verde Valley Medical Center, call 634-2251.
