Oncology

Oncology is the medical discipline concerned with the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care of tumour patients.

Switzerland is among the leading advanced countries in the field of detecting and treating complicated cancer and haematology cases in Europe.

The most modern technology, the best medical infrastructure as well as many years of medical and nursing experience in caring for cancer patients give patients the needed feeling of security.

Among our clinics, specialized centres offer comprehensive treatment from the diagnosis to rehabilitation. Highly qualified specialist knowledge, the development of our own standards and a modern, seamless documentation have only one goal in mind – the recovery of our patients.

Taking Care of Health Assets / Check-Up

Healthy people should enjoy their lives in complete peace of mind and just make sure nothing threats their health assets.

Our clinics are pioneers in this field, and now offers everyone the opportunity to preserve his or her most precious asset: health. The physicians have the expertise and resources to carry out comprehensive health check-ups. A check-up has two purposes:

  • to reduce the risk of a likely disorder developing
  • to detect a disorder in the absence of visible symptoms.

These check-ups generally take half a day to complete. They include a consultation with the doctor, a comprehensive blood test and cardiovascular assessment.

Medical Oncology

Medical oncology comprises chemotherapy, hormone therapy and other active medical treatments to control cancer.

Our clinics have facilities which provide inpatients and out-patient care for people who require chemotherapy. This unit prepares cytostatic drugs under negative pressure isolation. It comprises consultation rooms and treatment rooms.

ONCOLOGY / HAEMATOLOGY

Haematology is the medical discipline which studies the blood, the organs which produce and store blood cells (principally the bone marrow and the lymph nodes) and illnesses related to these.

The oncologist / haematologist plays an important role in diagnosing and treating blood diseases (leukaemia) as well as of bone marrow and lymph node diseases.

MOI – Radiotherapy

Radiotherapy is a treatment involving exposure to X-rays which destroy cancerous cells. It is a therapeutic technique in which precisely defined parts of the body are exposed to tumour-destroying radiation. This effect is generated by a linear accelerator which directs diffuse radiation at the tumour during daily sessions each lasting a few minutes. The radiation is guided very precisely by sophisticated systems inside the equipment.

The radio-oncologist selects – in close collaboration with the dosimetrists and physicists – the irradiation plans which will be delivered to the patients. Every stage of the treatment is subject to a rigorous quality control.

Surgery to remove tumours

  • Surgery is commonly used for cancer as a treatment and to diagnose or learn more about the cancer.
  • Different types of surgery are used depending on the type of cancer, where it is located, and the goals of surgery. Some types are also less invasive and have a shorter recovery time.
  • Where you have surgery and if or how long you need to stay in the hospital afterwards depends on the type of surgery you will have and how much time it will take to recover.

Surgery is the removal of the tumour and surrounding tissue during an operation. A doctor who specializes in treating cancer using surgery is called a surgical oncologist. Surgery is the oldest type of cancer therapy and remains an effective treatment for many types of cancer today. The goals of surgery vary. It is often used to remove all or some of the cancerous tissue after diagnosis. However, it can also be used to diagnose cancer, find out where the cancer is located, whether it has spread, and whether it is affecting the functions of other organs in the body. In addition, surgery can be helpful to restore the body’s appearance or function or to relieve side effects.

The location where you have surgery depends on the extent of the surgery and how much recovery is needed. Surgery may be performed in a doctor’s office, clinic, surgery centre, or hospital. Outpatient surgery means that you do not need to stay overnight in the hospital before or after surgery. Inpatient surgery means that you do need to stay in the hospital overnight or longer to recover after the surgery.

Types of conventional surgery

Diagnostic. For most types of cancer, a biopsy is the only way to make a definitive diagnosis. During a surgical biopsy, the surgeon makes a cut in the skin and removes some or all of the suspicious tissue. There are two main types of surgical biopsies. An incisional biopsy is the removal of a piece of the suspicious area for examination. An excisional biopsy is the removal of the entire suspicious area, such as an unusual mole or a lump. Learn more about types of biopsies and what to expect during the procedure.

After a biopsy, the tissue removed is examined under a microscope by a pathologist. A pathologist is a doctor who specializes in interpreting laboratory tests and evaluating cells, tissues, and organs to diagnose disease. The pathologist provides a pathology report to the surgeon or oncologist, who makes the diagnosis.

Staging: Staging surgery is performed to find out the size of the tumour and if or where it has spread. This often includes removing some lymph nodes, which are tiny, bean-shaped organs that help fight infection, near the cancer to find out if it has spread there. Together with the physical examination, biopsy, and results of laboratory and imaging tests, this surgery helps the doctor decide which kind of treatment is best and predict the patient’s prognosis, which is the chance of recovery.

Tumour removal, also called curative or primary surgery. The most common type of cancer surgery is the removal of the tumour and some of the tissue surrounding the tumour. The tissue surrounding the tumour is called the margin. Tumour removal may be the only treatment, or it may be combined with chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or other treatments, which may be given before or after surgery.

Conventional surgery requires large cuts, called incisions, through skin, muscle, and sometimes bone. However, in some situations, surgeons can use surgical techniques that are less invasive, which may speed recovery and reduce pain afterwards. Learn more about types of minimally invasive surgery below.

Debulking: When the complete removal of a tumour is not possible or might cause excessive damage to the body, surgery is used to remove as much of the tumour as possible. Other treatments, such as radiation therapy or chemotherapy, may sometimes also be used to shrink the remaining cancer.

Palliation: Palliative surgery is used to relieve side effects caused by a tumour. It plays an important role in improving quality of life for patients with advanced cancer or widespread disease. Examples include the following:

  • Surgery may be used to help relieve pain or restore physical function if a tumour presses on a nerve or the spinal cord, blocks the bowel or intestines, or creates pressure or blockage elsewhere in the body.
  • Surgery may be used to help stop bleeding. Certain cancers are more likely to cause bleeding because they occur in areas with a high concentration of blood vessels, such as the uterus, or organs in which the tumours are fragile and can easily bleed when food and waste products pass through, such as the esophagus, stomach, and bowel. In addition, bleeding may be a side effect of some drugs used to treat cancer. When surgery is needed to stop bleeding, a common technique is suture ligation, which involves tying blood vessels using surgical thread.
  • Surgery may be used to insert a feeding tube or tubes that deliver medications. If the cancer or cancer treatment has made it difficult to eat, a feeding tube may be inserted directly into the stomach or intestine through the abdominal wall. Or a tube may be inserted into a vein to deliver pain medication or chemotherapy.
  • Surgery may be used to prevent broken bones. Bones weakened by cancer or cancer treatment can break easily and often heal slowly. Inserting a metal rod may help prevent fractures of weak bones and relieve pain during healing.

Reconstruction: After primary cancer surgery, surgery may be an option to restore the body’s appearance or function. This is called reconstructive or plastic surgery. Reconstructive surgery may be done at the same time as surgery to remove the tumour. Or, it may be done later after a person has healed or received additional treatment. Examples of reconstructive surgery include breast reconstruction after a mastectomy and surgery to restore a person’s appearance and function after surgery to the head and neck area.

Prevention: Some surgery is performed to reduce the risk of developing cancer. For example, doctors often recommend the removal of precancerous polyps in the colon to prevent colon cancer. In addition, women with a strong family history of breast or ovarian cancers or known mutations to the BRCA1 and BRCA2 breast and ovarian cancer genes may decide to have a mastectomy, which is the removal of the breast, or an oophorectomy, which is the removal of the ovaries, to lower the risk of developing breast or ovarian cancer in the future.

Radiology and Nuclear medicine

Nowadays medical imaging is a central element in general medicine and in most medical and surgical specialties. Our hospitals and clinics are pioneers in this field and has made important investments to bring the technical level of the Institute of Medical Imaging and Nuclear Medicine to a higher level.

Our specialized institutes of Medical Imaging now have a considerable number of radiologists, nuclear doctors, medical radiation technologists (MRT) and other latest related technologies.

A COMPLETE ENTOURAGE ROUND THE PATIENT

Cancer patients need a particular care. Highly trained staff in our clinics is well prepared to give our patients a complete extra-medical entourage, comprising of psychological and re-constitutive support which will offer the best chances of recovery.

  • Consultations with a specialised nurse enable the patient to better understand his or her illness and treatment and have a chance to have any questions they may have answered
  • Information sessions with a social assistant from the Vaudoise Anti-Cancer League
  • Support course with the specialist oncology nurse (organised by “Learn to Live With Cancer” – AVAC)
  • 2 beauty treatments