Breast cancer is the most common malignant tumor in women. It can be detected even at a young age. If the diagnosis is confirmed on time, then the disease can be cured completely. Nevertheless, curing cancer is not enough. It is also important to do it with minimal risk of complications, while maintaining an active lifestyle and an attractive appearance. To ensure that cancer treatment is not only effective, but also safe and as sparing as possible, you can undergo therapy at one of the German hospitals.
Breast cancer is treated with surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, targeted therapy and immunotherapy.
Stage 4 cancer treatment includes combination of radiation therapy and systemic treatments – chemotherapy, hormone therapy, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy.
Price for radical mastectomy starts at €4,140. Cost of chemotherapy starts at €2,483. You can find other prices on our website.
Best hospitals for treatment in Germany are:
Surgery is the main treatment option for breast cancer. The aim of the intervention is to remove the primary tumor completely. An additional stage of surgical intervention can include the excision of the axillary lymph nodes.
In Germany, organ-preserving operations for breast cancer are performed in most cases. The doctor removes only the tumor and 1-2 cm of healthy tissues. Such approach has many benefits:
The widespread introduction of organ-preserving surgeries has become possible due to the high quality of breast cancer diagnosis making. Today, more than 40% of tumors are revealed before reaching a size of 2 cm. They are detected using mammography, which women undergo annually.
Clinical situations when organ-preserving surgery is suitable:
Most women with stage 1-2 breast cancer are the candidates for breast-preserving surgery. Radiation therapy is performed after it in order to reduce the risk of relapse.
Mastectomy is the main operation in countries with backward medicine. In Germany, whole breast removal is used rarely. Indications for mastectomy include:
Even if the breast is removed completely, German doctors rarely perform radical mastectomy, as this operation is very traumatic. They mostly perform simple or modified radical mastectomy. If the tumor does not spread to the pectoral muscles, such surgeries demonstrate the similar survival rate.
The sentinel lymph node biopsy is performed in most hospitals in Germany, but is not performed in many countries with a low level of medicine. This is an important part of breast surgery as it avoids lymph node dissection in women with early stage breast cancer.
The standard surgical approach includes removing the tumor or breast and at least 10 lymph nodes to be examined for cancer cells. But the problem is that complications may develop after the lymph node dissection. The most unfavorable one is lymphedema – lymphatic edema of the hand, which can lead to a complete loss of its function.
In Germany, doctors try to make the surgery as safe as possible. For German specialists, it is important not only to cure breast cancer, but also to maintain a high quality of life and work capacity after the surgery.
The essence of sentinel lymph node biopsy is as follows:
To locate the sentinel lymph nodes, a radionuclide method is used. It can be combined with the introduction of a blue dye. The doctor injects a radiopharmaceutical at several points along the perimeter of the tumor. Radiopharmaceutical enters the lymph, and with it reaches the sentinel lymph nodes. After the distribution of the radiopharmaceutical, lymph nodes become visible on the images made with the help of a gamma scanner or tomograph.
Sentinel lymph node biopsy is performed not only during breast-conserving surgery, but sometimes during a simple mastectomy. It is performed in women with early stage breast cancer. If metastases are found, the intervention is converted into a modified radical mastectomy with removal of the axillary lymph nodes.
Although the mammary gland is not a vital organ, breasts are an important part of female physical attractiveness. Therefore, most patients want to restore it after complete or partial removal.
Postoperative breast reconstruction is possible and very common in developed countries. There are many techniques of restoring the mammary gland. After a sectoral resection, plastic intervention is usually performed using a patient’s own tissues. After a mastectomy, it is possible to use both patient’s own tissues and implants.
Breast reconstruction options, depending on the time of performing:
Each approach has advantages and disadvantages. Immediate plastic surgery excludes psychological problems. A woman does not need to undergo two consequent operations. On the other hand, subsequent radiotherapy may worsen the results of breast reconstruction. In addition, with delayed plastic surgery there is less risk of complications that worsen the aesthetic results of plastic surgery.
Thus, many factors influence the choice of the method of breast reconstruction and the timing of this surgery. The main of them are the initial size of the mammary glands, the type of surgery (mastectomy or sectoral resection), the need for subsequent radiotherapy. The patient's wishes regarding her appearance after surgery are also considered. Some women want to enlarge or reduce the breast, as well as perform mastopexy (lift).
All women without exception undergo radiotherapy after breast-conserving surgery. The risk of complications after plastic surgery with a patient's own tissues is lower than after the implantation. For breast reconstruction, doctors take flaps from different parts of the body: abdomen, buttocks and thighs, and back. In German clinics, a microsurgical technique is used, which ensures good blood supply to the transferred flap and minimizes the risk of its necrosis (death).
The use of implants is preferable for those women with completely removed breasts who do not need additional radiation therapy. The plastic intervention can be performed directly during the operation to remove the malignant breast tumor. If radiation therapy is required, it is better to install implants in a few months, during a second surgery, since radiation therapy increases the risk of capsular contracture (formation of dense tissue around the endoprosthesis).
Radiation therapy is equally effective in any country of the world. At the same time, in Germany it is safer. In addition, in some cases the radiation therapy can be carried out according to an accelerated protocol, during only 5 days instead of 6 weeks.
In the vast majority of cases, radiation therapy is performed after surgery. The main situations when it is recommended:
In countries with a low level of medicine, irradiation is still carried out on outdated gamma devices. They successfully prevent the recurrence of breast cancer, but can cause serious complications, such as heart problems, pathological changes in the lungs, rib fractures, etc. In addition, another malignant tumor, angiosarcoma, may develop 8-10 years after exposure.
In Germany, the latest linear accelerators are used for irradiation. Planning and direction of rays occur in 3D mode. Beam intensity modulation is also possible. Beams are directed to the target area from different angles in order to minimize damage to healthy tissues. Since modern equipment is used in German clinics, serious complications after radiation therapy develop rarely here.
Some hospitals use programs of the accelerated partial breast irradiation. They are only used in the treatment of early stages of breast cancer. Instead of 30 sessions of radiation therapy, a woman undergoes only 10 ones. Irradiation is performed 2 times a day, so the whole course takes only 5 days instead of the usual 6 weeks.
In Germany, a woman can undergo chemotherapy. German doctors use only original drugs for pharmacological therapy. This increases the cost of treatment, but makes its effect more predictable and safe, as most of the clinical investigations were carried out with original drugs, and not their cheaper counterparts.
Chemotherapy after surgery is recommended to many women. It is aimed at reducing the risk of relapse. In non-aggressive types of breast cancer, chemotherapy is performed only after removal of large tumors (over 5 cm), or in the presence of metastases in the lymph nodes. In fast-growing tumors, chemotherapy is prescribed for tumors with a diameter from 0.5 cm, even if metastases are absent.
Usually, a course of chemotherapy takes from 3 to 6 months. It can be combined with other treatment options, except for radiation therapy. If the patient requires chemotherapy, then the radiation therapy is carried out no earlier than 3-4 weeks after the drug withdrawal.
In stage 3 breast cancer, chemotherapy is often prescribed as the first-line treatment. After tumor shrinkage and suppression of metastatic foci, a surgery is performed.
Along with other systemic methods of breast cancer treatment, chemotherapy is the main treatment option in patients with advanced stages of the disease. In the presence of metastases, drugs are able to penetrate into all organs and tissues, destroying cancer cells everywhere (even if they have not been detected by doctors yet). Chemotherapy does not cure breast cancer completely, but it can lead to the long-term remission of the disease, increasing a woman's life expectancy by several years.
If you undergo treatment in Germany, you have a better chance of curing breast cancer completely. You can get rid of a deadly diagnosis with minimal trauma of healthy tissues, without serious health consequences, as well as with a good aesthetic result – German plastic surgeons will restore your breasts after defeating cancer.
Main benefits of breast cancer treatment in Germany include the following.
You can undergo treatment in one of the best German clinics. The reliable information about hospitals, doctors, breast cancer treatments and prices is presented on the Booking Health website. Here you can compare the cost of treatment in different clinics and book a medical program at a favorable price. Average prices for the certain medical procedures are as follows:
The average price of rehabilitation after breast cancer treatment is 1,190 EUR per day, the minimum price is 1,041 EUR per day, and the maximum price is 1,553 EUR per day.
Booking Health specialists will arrange a trip to Germany. Services and benefits of the company include:
Booking Health specialists provide quality services. We will book a hotel and airline tickets for you, organize a transfer from the airport to the hospital and back.
Authors:
The article was edited by medical experts, board-certified doctors Dr. Nadezhda Ivanisova and Dr. Farrukh Ahmed. 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!
Sources:
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