What is Cancer?
Cancer is the uncontrolled proliferation of cells in our body. Some cancers can spread to other organs through the neighborhood, blood vessels or lymphatic vessels, threatening the health of the body and can lead to death if left untreated. There are more than 200 types of cancer and one in two people in the UK will get one of these types of cancer in their lifetime. Thanks to the treatment methods developed in the light of scientific research, many patients get rid of cancer or at least their life expectancy is optimized.
How Does Cancer Occur?
All types of cancer originate from a single cell. There are about one hundred trillion cells in our body. Cancer begins to develop in one or a group of these cells. Normally, how much each cell divides and reproduces is controlled by hormonal signals. With the disruption of this signal system, cells begin to grow and multiply, forming a mass called a tumor. For cancer to start, there must be a deterioration in the genetic structure of the cell.
How Does Cancer Grow?
Masses formed in the body can be benign or malignant. Benign masses usually grow slowly, do not spread to other parts of the body, and are usually surrounded by normal cells. Cancer cells, on the other hand, multiply very rapidly, causing growing masses, often causing discomfort or pain, frightening in appearance, pressing on other organs, and sometimes secreting hormones that affect the body.
How Does Cancer Spread?
Cancers spread to other organs most commonly through blood or lymphatic vessels. Compared to cancers that only affect the organ in which it develops, the life expectancy is shorter in cancers that have spread throughout the body. The ways and rate of spread of many cancers have been determined by studies. These studies are also important in how to treat cancer.
How Is Cancer Treated?
Despite all the advances in medicine, the removal of cancerous tissues and all surrounding blood vessels and lymph nodes from the body, that is, the surgical method, is still the most important stage of treatment. In this way, cell spread from the primary tumor can be prevented, the pressure of cancer on neighboring organs can be eliminated, and this effect can be stopped in tumors that secrete hormones.
What is Metastasis?
Metastasis describes cancerous cells that have spread from the primary cancer mass to the body or local spaces. For this purpose, complementary therapies such as chemotherapy (drug therapy), radiotherapy (radiation therapy), targeted immunotherapy and hormone therapy should be added to surgical treatment.
What Are the Cancer Numbers Like in the UK?
In the UK, 375,000 new cancer cases are detected each year. This means an average of 1000 new cancer patients per day. In other words, every two minutes a patient is diagnosed with cancer. More than half of the cancers seen are breast, prostate, lung and colon cancers. The age group with the highest increase in cancer rates is 85-89. Nearly half of cancers are detected in advanced stages, which we call Stage 3 or Stage 4. UK cancer rates are higher than two-thirds of Europe. It is also 90% higher than the world average. Deaths from cancer are close to one-third of all deaths.
Covid Pandemic and Cancer in UK
After the National lockdown in March 2020, cancer screenings were suspended and only the diagnostic procedures of urgent and symptomatic patients were given priority. In studies conducted after this period, thousands of preventable deaths have occurred only due to delays in diagnosis, especially breast, colorectal, lung and esophageal cancers.
For example, screening endoscopies were canceled, emergency cases with appointments for only 2 weeks were allowed, and the number of endoscopy decreased by 90%. These reductions were due to both protecting patients and staff from Covid, and directing resources to intensive care treatment of patients with Covid-19. For this reason, it has been suggested by scientists to make urgent policy changes.
However, increasing the centers where diagnostic tests are performed will not provide a quick solution. Again, due to the incredible increase in the workload of doctors and hospitals, cancer surgeries have also started to be disrupted. According to one study, 4755 preventable deaths occurred in 94,912 patients who had a 3-month delay in treatment, i.e. surgical removal of the tumor. Yet another study found that one out of every 7 cancer surgeries was delayed due to Covid 19. Meanwhile, NHS doctors fear facing a storm of lawsuits over delayed cancer treatments. The report “Waiting Times for Patients Suspected or Diagnosed with Cancer” published by the NHS also points to a major delay starting from 2020.
Can Cancer Treatment in Turkey be a Solution?
Turkey is one of the world’s leading health tourism centers with its advanced hospital infrastructure, advanced technology medical equipment and experienced physician staff. Hospital groups, especially serving at world standards, offer treatment options by making use of advanced technology in all types of cancer, from brain tumors to lung, prostate, colon and stomach cancers, from ovarian tumors to pancreatic, gallbladder, kidney and gynecological cancers.
The treatment methods offered are not limited to surgery, but modern methods such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy, Gamma-knife, hot chemotherapy (HIPEC) and PIPAC that reduce the effect of systemic chemotherapy are also offered to patients. Not only in the treatment process, but also in the diagnosis phase, Turkey is a destination where you can find an extremely economical and fast solution with a flight distance of only 3.5 hours. Especially considering how laborious and costly endoscopic procedures are in the UK, choosing Turkey for such examinations will be of great benefit in terms of early diagnosis.
What is Offered in Cancer Treatment in Turkey?
We provide you with the most successful names in the following services in contracted hospital groups:
-Cancer surgeries
-Robotic surgery with the Da Vinci robot
-Neurosurgery with the Gamma Knife
-Hormonal therapy
-Radiation therapy
-Immunotherapy
-Chemotherapy
-HIPEC and PIPAC
Why should I choose Turkey for Cancer Treatment?
Oncology centers in Turkey provide comprehensive services in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of all types of cancer. In leading cancer centers, patients are handled with a multidisciplinary, high-success, holistic approach that uses all advanced technology in the field, in coordination with the stage of their cancer. All these services are offered at extremely affordable costs compared to most UK and European countries.
Why Should I Advance With Flytocure in Cancer Treatment?
Flytocure is not one of the hundreds of health tourism companies. It is a multidisciplinary UK healthcare organization founded and managed by a surgeon with 25 years of professional experience. Our aim is not only to direct you to the centers that will do your treatment, but also to help you get the most successful treatment and get rid of cancer by being as close as a member of our own family, starting from your journey, with all the stages of your treatment.
Your surgeries are performed by oncological surgeons working under the roof of our center, chemotherapy and all other treatment stages are followed step by step by a dedicated team and you are accompanied. What’s more, we are the first and only healthcare company to follow up on any medical and surgical checkups that may be required when you return to the UK at our NHS contracted health center here.
You can contact our expert team immediately for cancer screenings, surgeries and controls, in order to spend much longer and more quality years with your loved ones. Call now: 07491 06 86 86
Further Reading:
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanonc/article/PIIS1470-2045(20)30388-0/fulltext