When prostate cancer is diagnosed, it is better to treat it in the specialized healthcare facilities. Many excellent hospitals around the world can provide you with top-notch medical care. It’s your right to choose from highly rated institutions based on the quality of healthcare services, the level of medical progress, and patient comfort. Due to the development of medical tourism, you can undergo treatment in your native country or easily travel abroad.
How is prostate cancer treated in the best oncology hospitals?
There are two basic therapeutic approaches for managing prostate oncology. The first one aims to cure the disease (if possible), and the other focuses on slowing down cancer progression (if it’s impossible to destroy the neoplasm).
The choice between the two is made based on the cancer stage. Complete cure is possible in the presence of localized tumors that do not spread beyond the prostate (i.e. at stages 1 and 2). When prostate cancer reaches stages 3-4, or when the tumor relapses after treatment, therapy helps slow down its growth, even if a cure is not possible.
The prostate gland is an important organ, but an adult man can live without it. Therefore, if cancer has not spread, and the patient is eligible for surgery, the oncologist will recommend a radical prostatectomy – removal of the prostate. At the initial stages of the disease, this approach allows complete recovery in a short time (stay in hospital takes about 7 days).
Treatment alternatives to traditional surgery
Cryosurgery for prostate tumors can become an alternative to traditional surgery. This method is used at the early stages of the disease, when cancer has not spread beyond the organ yet. After the procedure, the gland does not have to be removed (although its functions are suppressed). In recent years, cryosurgery has increasingly been offered as the primary treatment for prostate cancer in eligible patients.
If the tumor has grown beyond the prostate capsule or the patient can’t tolerate surgery, radiation therapy can be an alternative. X-rays kill rapidly dividing cells prone to uncontrolled growth. As a result of radiotherapy, the tumor shrinks and tissues affected by malignant cells are “cleaned”.
Radiotherapy is prescribed as a separate method of treatment or in combination with surgery: before the intervention or after it. It can be external (when the patient lies under the radiation) or internal (when special radioactive “seeds” are placed near the tumor).
Best hospitals for oncology of the prostate gland
Choosing the right hospital is one of the most important decisions before traveling abroad.
When choosing a medical facility before treatment, try to collect as much reliable information about it as possible. Usually, all the information can be found on the official website. You can also get it from a representative of the international department at the medical center.
You can receive the most objective and unbiased information from a manager at a medical tourism company, as he is not interested in referring you to a specific hospital, but focuses solely on the treatment success rates. Medical tourism provider Booking Health made a list of the best places for prostate cancer treatment that is also based on the reviews of patients. You can check out the list of the best places for prostate cancer treatment on the Booking Health website.
How to start prostate cancer treatment during a lockdown?
Booking Health supports patients during prostate cancer treatment abroad and takes care of all the organizational aspects.
Organization of treatment abroad, specifically during a lockdown, requires considering many formalities, which is sometimes impossible for an uninformed person. Booking Health assists in the selection of the healthcare facility, offers professional translation of medical reports, communicates with the hospital, helps to get a visa (which is particularly challenging during a lockdown), finds accommodation for your accompanying person and so on.
Feel free to check out the best hospitals for oncology treatment on the Booking Health website. Keep in mind that you can start your treatment right now! All that you need to do is to fill in the request form, so that a medical advisor will be able to contact you as soon as possible.