Rectal Cancer Treatment in Israel
Malignant rectal tumours tend to develop slowly. Patients often remain unaware of them until they’ve reached an advanced stage. Well pronounced symptoms tend to appear only when the tumour has reached a large size. One of the first signs is the appearance of rectal mucus, followed by blood and pus. If you have noted these symptoms, you may require rectal cancer treatment.
Diagnostics
The first stage of our treatment of rectal cancer program is diagnostics. It takes 5 days to complete and takes place at Ichilov and Assuta medical centers.
Listed below is the schedule:
Day 1: Lab work up (including tumour markers) and preparation for colonoscopy.
Day 2: Colonoscopy with biopsy. The sample is sent for expedited histopathological study.
Day 3: PET CT (to rule out metastases)
Day 5: The results of all the aforementioned studies are ready. At this point you will be examined by a colorectal surgeon, who will determine the most appropriate course of treatment.
If the diagnosis is confirmed, there are two important factors that determine the course of treatment.
- Tumour localization (distance from anus)
- Extraintestinal spread
Rectal Cancer Treatment in Israel – Costs
The costs for the rectal cancer treatment program are comprised of the following:
- Full blood workup (including CBC, SMAC, coagulation factors, electrolyte levels and tumour markers)
- Colonoscopy (under general anesthesia); a biopsy during the procedure
- Expedited histopathological study
- PET-CT scan
- Colorectal surgeon’s consultation
- Routine preoperative preparation including an ECG, chest X-ray and an anesthesiologist’s consultation
- Optional: Pre-operative transrectal US scan
If extraintestinal spread is observed during the PET scan (for example omental or lung mets) the treatment of choice is chemotherapy to combat the metastases. In cases of lesser pelvis mets the recommended treatment is radiation therapy. Normally 28-30 sessions are scheduled (5 sessions per week for 6 weeks).
Radiation Therapy
The cost of radiation therapy is comprised of the following:
- Initial radiation oncologist consultation
- Radiation simulation
- Radiation therapy – price depends on number of session and area irradiated
- Blood work up during the treatment (at least 2)
- Radiation oncologist consultations during the treatment (at least 2)
The radiation therapy will take place at Assuta Hospital’s Oncology Dept. Assuta utilizes cutting-edge technologies and techniques including dynamic targeting image-guided radiotherapy. A PET-CT scan takes place once therapy has been completed. If it shows that the mets have disappeared, a surgery is scheduled for about 4-8 weeks following the radiation therapy.
Surgical Treatment for Rectal Cancer
If no extraintestinal spread is seen or if the tumour has only metastasized into the intestinal lymph nodes, a surgery will be scheduled without neoadjuvant therapy. The exact type of surgery will be determined depending on the mass’ exact localization. The possible variants for operative rectal cancer treatment are low anterior resection (without colostomy) or abdominoperineal resection (with colostomy).
The fee for the operation covers:
- Routine preoperative preparation including an ECG, chest X-ray and an anesthesiologist’s consultation
- Operative procedure and 6 days of hospitalization
- Disposable surgical materials
- Express biopsy and definitive histopathological study
It is advised you remain in Israel for approximately 10 days following your discharge from the hospital for outpatient follow-up and care.
** Procedure can be performed utilizing the robotic da Vinci Surgical System. This will significantly decrease post-operative pain and shorten your recovery period.
** Radiation therapy can be performed utilizing IMRT Rapid Arc therapy. This significantly increases the therapy’s efficiency and reduces side effects.
