Why do residents of many countries treat cancer in Turkey?
Cancer treatment in Turkish clinics meets European and international standards, and the cost of the treatment is significantly less than in Israel, Germany, and the United Stat
es. The Turkish Acibadem Clinicis known throughout the world for its achievements in the field of oncology, good results in the treatment of many types of cancer, and the optimal price/quality ratio of medical services.
In Turkey, there are several more large university clinics with prestigious JCI international accreditation, where foreigners can receive the most effective oncology treatment to date according to international protocols. Among them are Medical Park and Emsey.
By receiving treatment in oncology centers of such a high level, patients with early stages of cancer recover completely. In patients with advanced stages of disease, doctors achieve long-term remission. In the advanced stages of cancer, they prolong the patient’s life with its good quality.
In addition, it is possible to organize cancer treatment in Turkey very quickly. Clinics are interested in accepting foreign patients, and they are supported by the Turkish Ministry of Health and the state. Therefore, Turkish doctors quickly review oncological medical cases from other countries and provide a treatment plan. They also promptly provide a place in the clinic and begin treatment and diagnostic procedures.
Many foreign patients, including those from the CIS countries, have already visited Turkey as tourists more than once, so they feel comfortable in this country.
The number of foreign patients with oncological diagnoses in Turkish clinics, as well as the number of reviews from people from around the world successfully cured of cancer, is constantly growing.
For foreigners, Turkish clinics have excellent conditions for staying:
- no language barrier;
- each patient is supervised by a coordinator;
- medical staff maintains a positive psychological atmosphere.
How is accurate cancer diagnosis carried out in Turkey?
Modern diagnostics of oncological disease include:
- visualization of the tumor and metastases;
- biopsy of the neoplasm;
- various studies of malignant cells.
Therefore, it requires high-tech equipment and qualified narrow specialists. Turkish oncology clinics are not inferior to European university hospitals in terms of their equipment and the level of attending physicians and medical staff.
o visualize a malignant tumor, oncologists perform:
Care for patients and their comfort in Turkey is always a priority. Turkish hospitality and friendliness are felt by all foreigners who are being treated in oncology departments. Many of them note this in their reviews.
- Various types of computed tomography (CT). For example, digital mammography with 3D tomosynthesis (three-dimensional scanning of breast tissue at 1 mm intervals) detects a tumor of any size.
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) on devices with a power of at least 3 Tesla. This examination allows you to clearly visualize the tumor and its metastases.
- Positron emission tomography (PET), which allows you to see a complete picture of the spread of cancer in the body;
- Hybrid PET-CT, PET/MRI examination methods that help doctors detect and accurately locate even small clusters of malignant cells in the body;
- Endoscopic examinations using high-tech endoscopes – devices for examining hollow organs (stomach, uterus, bladder, bronchi) through natural openings with the latest optical and computer systems for image processing.
A tumor biopsy (tissue sampling of a neoplasm for examination) is performed by oncologists under imaging control using MRI and ultrasound navigation using minimally invasive methods. For example, this is how they perform high-precision fusion biopsy of the prostate.
In laboratories, using the latest technology, morphologists perform histological, molecular genetic, and immunological studies of malignant cells.
This level of examination completely eliminates errors in diagnosis. Accurate diagnosis ensures effective treatment.
How is cancer treated in Turkey?
Treatment is carried out in specialized centers and departments based on large multidisciplinary clinics. They are led by unique specialists with extensive experience in the treatment of a particular type of cancer. They advise every patient.
When prescribing therapy, doctors use an interdisciplinary personalized approach. This means that a team of specialists individually selects or specially develops a therapy protocol for each patient. This is an oncologist surgeon who performs the removal of the primary tumor, an oncologist who performs chemotherapy, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy, a radiologist who performs radiotherapy and radiosurgery. The oncological consultation may include a morphologist who takes into account all the characteristics of malignant cells.
When drawing up a treatment plan, doctors take into account the risk of relapse, the prognosis of the disease, and the state and age of the patient.
For many types of cancer, minimally invasive surgery is performed, in the early stages – organ-preserving ones. Chemotherapy includes the latest drugs with proven efficacy. Targeted therapy and immunotherapy are selected according to the molecular genetic profile of malignant cells. High-dose chemotherapy with bone marrow transplantation is widely used.
Foreign patients in Turkey have access to all types of standard and innovative treatments.
What types of cancer are most often treated in Turkey?
Foreigners come to Turkish clinics for the treatment of almost all oncological diseases, including the treatment of:
- Tumors of the brain. For example, the surgical removal of a tumor by a neurosurgeon, Professor Memet OZEK in Acibadem, or non-surgical treatment with a Gamma Knife by Professor Turker Kılıch in Medical Park is performed.
- Acute leukemia. For example, a bone marrow transplantation at the specialized center of Medical Park is carried out by a specialist in the treatment of leukemia and lymphoma in children, Professor Mehmet Akif Yes
- For example, they receive immunotherapy according to the American protocol from the pediatric oncologist Professor Funda Vesile Çorapçoğlu in Acibadem.
Turkish clinics can be contacted with any type of cancer, including rare ones, as well as complex and inoperable cases. Oncologists will consult the patient even with the 4th stage of the disease and offer a treatment option.
What advanced technologies and methods of cancer treatment are used in Turkey?
In Turkey, cancer is treated with a range of innovative technologies, including:
- Innovative Immunotherapy. CAR-T at Acibadem Clinic is prescribed for children and adults with leukemia and lymphoma who have not been helped by standard protocols. The success rate of the treatment in Turkey is the same as in Israel. In 90% of children and 70% of adults, doctors achieve a state of remission.
- Minimal invasive and robotic tumor surgery. For example, for prostate cancer, cervical cancer, an operation is performed using the Da Vinci robotic system.
- High-precision radiotherapy. Radiation treatment is carried out on the most modern linear accelerators with MRI and CT control (MR-LINAC, TrueBeam STx).
- Radiosurgery of tumors and metastases. It is carried out on CyberKnife, ELEKTA VERSA-HD devices with an accuracy of 1mm.
- Radionuclide therapy is an innovative radiation therapy and irradiation of the tumor with radioactive substances that are administered intravenously. For example, radioactive isotopes of lutetium and actinium are used to treat prostate cancer at Anadolu Medical Center.
These latest technologies are available in Turkey to all foreign patients, the cost is much lower than in Germany and Israel.
How much does cancer treatment cost in Turkey?
The final cost of oncology depends on many factors: first of all, on the treatment plan and prices for medical services. The treatment protocol is developed taking into account the type and stage of cancer, which are often specified during the diagnosis in the clinic.
Even with the longest and most complex cancer treatment in the most famous medical centers in Turkey, its cost will be 30-50% lower than in the most ordinary hospitals in Germany and Israel.
Therefore, oncology in Turkey has an optimal cost/quality ratio. Given the good results of therapy at an affordable cost for many people with an oncological diagnosis, today it remains the world’s best alternative to oncology in Germany, Israel, and the USA.
How to organize cancer treatment in Turkey?
Coordinators-doctors of Experts Medical promptly organize a consultation for a patient in several Turkish clinics and offer a preliminary treatment plan with prices for all medical services. They will also solve absolutely all issues related directly to the trip to Turkey of the patient and the accompanying person.
Children can receive financial assistance from charitable foundations, with which Experts Medical cooperates.
The Experts Medical service is the official representative of several oncology clinics in Turkey, so its organizational services are free.
The material was checked and approved by Erica Igonina, a medical author at Experts Medical.
