Oncology treatment in Israel
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Tens of thousands of foreign patients come to Israeli hospitals for a treatment annually. About 80% of them have cancer. Israeli oncologists are considered to be among the best in the world. Cancer centers in this country provide high diagnostic accuracy, perform minimally invasive surgeries, apply innovative methods of cancer treatment.
Content
- Cancer diagnosis
- Breast cancer treatment
- Lung cancer treatment
- Treatment of liver cancer
- Treatment of kidney cancer
- Skin cancer treatment
- Treatment of thyroid cancer
- Ovarian cancer treatment
- Where can I get assistance?
Cancer diagnosis
In Israel, cancer can be detected even at the initial stages by means of endoscopic examinations and the latest medical imaging techniques. Not only CT and MRI are used here, but also PET and PET-CT. These diagnostic tests allow the doctors to accurately determine the stage of cancer even before performing surgery.
The leading clinics use laboratory tests, which determine genetic mutations, molecular biological characteristics of the tumor. As a result, doctors have the opportunity to select chemotherapy, targeted, and hormone therapy individually.
The tests for tumor markers are used in many oncological diseases. They make it possible to predict the further course of the disease, choose the optimal treatment method, assess its effectiveness, and detect cancer recurrence timely.
Breast cancer treatment
Since 2000, the Israeli Breast Cancer Coalition has initiated the establishment of Breast Centers throughout the country. More than 20 years have passed since then, and nowadays Israel is one of the leaders in the treatment of breast cancer.
The initial diagnostics of the disease is carried out using mammography. If necessary, Israeli specialists use ultrasound and MRI.
For the surgical treatment of breast cancer in Israel, both organ-preserving surgeries and mastectomy (breast removal) are performed. Irradiation is usually prescribed after organ-preserving operations. The leading clinics in the country use the latest devices for radiation therapy. Such treatments ensure the following results:
- Reduce irradiation course to just a few days
- Accurately direct the irradiation on the tumor, avoiding damage to healthy tissues
- Affect tumor foci, even if they are located near important organs, nerves, blood vessels
Individual drug therapies are selected for patients according to the molecular biological type of the tumor.
Some time after the surgical treatment of breast cancer or simultaneously, immediately after mastectomy, the reconstructive stage of the operation is performed. Israeli doctors achieve excellent aesthetic results by restoring a woman's breast with implants or their own tissues from the lower abdomen.
Lung cancer treatment
Surgical intervention is used for the treatment of lung cancer in the case of timely detection of this disease. It can be performed in different volumes:
- Wedge resection
- Removal of a segment or lobe of the lung
- Pneumonectomy
Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgeries (VATS) are carried out in Israel. They are less invasive, safer for a patient, ensure faster recovery and less risk of complications. Intervention is performed through small incisions. Some clinics perform robot-assisted surgeries.
In the case of advanced stage of lung cancer, the specialists in Israel use not only chemotherapy and radiation, but also targeted therapy and immunotherapy. The treatment is selected individually, according to the results of diagnostic procedures.
Treatment of liver cancer
More than 80% of patients with operable liver cancer are completely cured of this disease in Israel. The main method is partial removal of the liver.
In the case of inoperable tumors, or contraindications for surgery, many other effective treatment methods are used in Israel, such as:
- Hepatic artery embolization
- Intra-arterial chemotherapy is the injection of chemotherapeutic agents into the hepatic artery; such approach increases the efficiency of drug delivery to the tumor significantly
- Chemoembolization and radioembolization are a combination of embolization with chemotherapy and radiation therapy (blockage of the hepatic artery with emboli containing chemotherapy or radioactive substances)
- Various types of tumor ablation, including the IRE procedure, which allows doctors to burn out by means of electricity even the tumors, which are located near large vessels or bile ducts
In patients with contraindications for surgery, ablation can be used as a radical treatment method. Less patients recover after it as compared to surgical resection, but if a diameter of the neoplasm is under 3 cm, a person has excellent chances to cure from cancer. Such treatment methods as laser, radiofrequency procedures or cryoablation are used for tumour destruction as well.
Treatment of kidney cancer
The main treatment for kidney cancer is surgery. Almost 100% of patients with neoplasms under 4 cm in diameter are cured in Israel. In the case of such small tumors, Israeli doctors do not remove the entire kidney, but only part of the organ. In some clinics, this operation is performed using robot-assisted surgery.
The initial stages of kidney cancer can be cured without surgery in Israel. Cryoablation is used to destroy the tumor. A probe is inserted into the area where the tumor is located, and then it is frozen. The efficiency of this procedure with the correct selection of patients reaches 96%.
Radical nephrectomy is sometimes indicated for patients. In the case of a small tumor, the surgical intervention in Israel is performed using minimally invasive access. In some cancer centers robot-assisted surgeries are performed. They allow doctors to perform nephrectomy through an incision, which is slightly longer than 1 centimeter.
Systemic therapy methods for kidney cancer are used rarely. Immunotherapy and targeted therapy are applied in Israel. Chemotherapy is almost never used, as it is less effective in comparison with other methods.
Skin cancer treatment
Skin cancer is divided into melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer. Most non-melanoma tumors are squamous cell carcinomas and basal cell carcinomas.
Non-melanoma tumors are usually cured successfully. Surgery is sufficient to defeat cancer completely. A resection margin of 3 to 9 mm towards healthy skin is made for removal of the neoplasm (depending on the depth of invasion and location of cancer).
Mohs surgery is often carried out in Israel – a multi-stage, layer-by-layer tumor removal. After each removal step, samples are examined in a laboratory. Further tissue excision is carried out only in those areas where cancer cells are detected. The probability of curing cancer after this procedure is 95-99% in different clinics in Israel. These rates are among the highest in the world. At the same time, doctors do not have to remove too much healthy skin, so a patient does not have significant aesthetic and functional defects after the operation. Mohs surgery is the best treatment option for tumors on the face, near large nerves or vessels, joints, eyes, etc., namely, in all areas where the operation should be as sparing as possible for the surrounding tissues.
For melanoma treatment in Israel doctors use not only surgical methods, but also the latest types of immunotherapy, including vaccines, TIL treatment, CAR T-cell therapy. They help to achieve remission of the disease even at the 3-4 stages of melanoma.
Treatment of thyroid cancer
Leading Israeli clinics have excellent rates of thyroid cancer treatment. Some types of tumors are cured with a probability of more than 90%.
The standard treatment method is thyroidectomy, but this operation leads to the development of hypothyroidism. The body no longer produces thyroid hormones, so the patient has to take them in pills constantly.
In recent years, there has been a tendency in Israel to an increase in the number of organ-preserving operations. Doctors remove only one of the two lobes of the thyroid gland and the isthmus. With the proper selection of patients, such operations are no less effective than the total removal of the organ. In some Israeli clinics, the proportion of thyroidectomy has decreased to 30-35%. Most patients undergo partial thyroidectomy.
Israel carries out a unique operation: removal of the thyroid gland through the oral cavity. In this case, it is not necessary to make incisions on the neck. Tumor resection is performed using endoscopic technique. The procedure is performed in patients who want to have the best aesthetic result, since the advantage of the operation is the absence of a scar on the neck.
In addition to surgical methods, radioiodine therapy is used in Israel. The injected radioactive iodine is captured by cancer cells. The drug destroys the tumor from the inside. Moreover, it destroys not only the primary neoplasm, but also all metastases, if they have already appeared.
The Israeli specialists use radiation, targeted therapy and chemotherapy in the most aggressive types of thyroid cancer.
Ovarian cancer treatment
In the case of ovarian cancer, the highest level of medical care is required for women. The problem is that two-thirds of all cases of this pathology are detected at the 3-4 stages.
Surgery is used as the first treatment method in Israel. It can be performed in different ways and in different volumes. Laparoscopic and robot-assisted surgeries are performed at the initial stages of cancer. Open surgery is usually carried out at the advanced stages. A doctor removes all visible tumor foci. He often has to perform a resection not only of the ovaries, uterus and fallopian tubes, but also of some abdominal organs.
After operations in advanced ovarian cancer cases, hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy is carried out in some Israeli clinics. The abdominal cavity is washed with chemotherapeutic agents in order to destroy the remaining tumor foci.
At the advanced stages of ovarian cancer, the following treatment methods are used:
- Systemic chemotherapy
- Targeted therapy
- Hormone therapy
- Irradiation
Where can I get assistance?
If you want to undergo cancer treatment in Israel, you can use the services of Booking Health. You can choose a proper medical center and book the treatment program at an affordable price on our portal. The specialists of Booking Health will arrange a trip abroad for you. We provide the following services and advantages:
- Selection of the Israeli clinic, which specializes in the treatment of certain cancers, uses innovative methods and achieves the best results
- Reduced waiting period for a treatment
- Reduced costs for medical services due to avoiding additional coefficients for foreign patients
- Direct communication with the doctor
- Elaboration of a treatment program without repeating previously performed diagnostic tests
- Buying and forwarding medicines
- Communication with the clinic after the treatment program completion
- Organization of additional diagnostics, treatment or rehabilitation
The specialists of Booking Health provide TOP-class service. We will book a hotel and airline tickets for you, meet you at the airport and take you to the hospital by car.
Choose treatment abroad and you will for sure get the best results!
Authors:
The article was edited by medical experts, board certified doctors Dr. Nadezhda Ivanisova, Alexandra Solovey. For the treatment of the conditions referred to in the article, you must consult a doctor; the information in the article is not intended for self-medication!
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