The international Amethyst Radiotherapy network is expanding its activities in Europe. It has acquired two oncology centers in France, and earlier this week it opened a modern radiotherapy center in Cluj-Napoca, Romania.

The French centers are located in the cities of Compiegne and Creil. They offer a wide range of oncological treatment and medical care - over 1000 patients are treated there annually, and three Varian accelerators are used in radiotherapy. Thanks to the involvement of Amethyst Radiotherapy and close cooperation with existing hospital facilities, it will be possible to implement the latest scientific achievements while applying the highest quality standards.

In addition to purchasing the above-mentioned facilities, Amethyst Radiotherapy is also developing a network of its own centers built from scratch. He has just launched the Amethyst Radiotherapy Center in Cluj-Napoca - it is the first such a modern unit in western Romania. Here you will find, among others: two latest generation accelerators, a brachytherapy device (Flexitron), a computed tomography scanner and an entire floor dedicated to chemotherapy. Patients are treated using the latest equipment and highly specialized radiotherapeutic procedures, including: stereotactic techniques, IMRT (Intensity Modulated Radiotherapy), dynamic techniques such as VMAT. 50 people work at the Amethyst Radiotherapy Center in Cluj-Napoca.

Specialist Hospital named after L. Rydygiera is one of two facilities in Małopolska that provide comprehensive oncological care for patients with breast cancer. The agreement with the Małopolska branch of the National Health Fund in Krakow in this respect has been in force since January this year. A multidisciplinary approach to breast cancer treatment is crucial to increase the cure rate of this disease.

Every day, over 50 women in our country learn that they have breast cancer (19 cases diagnosed annually). Breast cancer is the most common malignancy in women. In Poland it constitutes 23 percent. all cancer cases and is the cause of death in approximately 14%. women with cancer. Forecasts predict that in 2025, 21 cases of this disease will be diagnosed.

The need for systemic changes

Despite the increase in the number of patients, mortality from breast cancer is decreasing in many European countries. However, not in Poland, where it is still very high. Between 2010 and 2016, the death rate from breast cancer increased by 7,2%. (report of the National Institute of Health – PZH in Warsaw). It is necessary to increase the effectiveness of breast cancer treatment as quickly as possible. The guidelines of the European Society of Mastology (EUSOM) recommend the introduction of multidisciplinary breast cancer treatment centers, the so-called BREAST UNIT, ensuring comprehensive and safe treatment and shortening the time between individual stages of therapy.

From this year, effective fight against breast cancer in Poland will be facilitated by the model of comprehensive oncological care (so-called KON-Pierś). The medical facilities implementing it provide patients with coordinated therapy from the moment of diagnosis, through surgical treatment, chemotherapy or radiotherapy, to rehabilitation and monitoring the long-term effects of treatment. Specialist Hospital named after L. Rydygiera and the Krakow Branch of the National Institute of Oncology are the first facilities in Małopolska that have signed contracts with the Małopolska Provincial Branch of the National Health Fund for comprehensive oncological care for patients with breast cancer.

Medical progress in terms of knowledge about cancer and the variety of therapies used is enormous. The cure rate of breast cancer is very high. There are countries where 5-year survival rates reach 90%. Diagnostics allows you to determine the biological subtype of breast cancer and select the optimal treatment method, including: immunotherapy.

Modern oncological therapies use individual solutions, closely tailored to the patient's disease history. Currently, treatment is a team effort, and multidisciplinary consultations in the field of breast cancer are held at the Specialist Hospital. L. Rydygiera have been operating for many years.

- We choose the best treatment plan based on knowledge and medical guidelines, clinical trials and publications. After analyzing all the solutions, we recommend the most effective method to the patient, but the decision is ultimately hers. We consistently focus on progressive individualization of treatment, because not only the effect of the treatment itself is important, but also the patient's quality of life after the therapy. – Marcin Hetnał, MD, head of the radiotherapy department of the Specialist Hospital. L. Rydygier and the medical director of the Amethyst Radiotherapy Center, which is part of the comprehensive oncological care for patients with breast cancer at this hospital

Spare the breast

Oncological surgery remains a key element of breast cancer therapy. However, its scope is changing significantly.

– Mastectomy, i.e. amputation of the entire breast, is used less and less often, and when possible, it is replaced by breast-conserving surgery, which, with the full effectiveness of oncological treatment, causes fewer complications, ensures shorter post-operative recovery time and, thanks to oncoplastic procedures, gives good cosmetic results – says Piotr Bodzioch, head of the breast disease treatment clinic at the Specialist Hospital. L. Rydygier in Krakow.

The sparing approach also applies to lymph nodes - in many clinically justified situations, surgeons only remove the sentinel node instead of completely removing the axillary lymph nodes.

Breast-conserving treatment requires full cooperation of an oncological surgeon, radiologist, clinical oncologist and radiotherapist. It often begins long before surgery, when properly planned systemic treatment reduces the size of the tumor to such an extent that the surgery will be less extensive and allows the patient to preserve her breasts.

- The integral components of combined treatment of breast cancer are chemotherapy, immunotherapy, hormonal therapy and radiotherapy. For such treatment to be possible, it is extremely important to diagnose breast cancer at an early stage of development – emphasizes Piotr Bodzioch.

Increase precision and efficiency

Today, the variety of methods also includes radiotherapy itself. The Amethyst Radiotherapy Center uses traditional radiotherapy (teleradiotherapy), where radiation is generated by a special device (accelerator) at a certain distance from the patient's body, and brachytherapy, in which the radiation source is placed directly in the tumor or the place after its removal. Combination treatment combines teleradiotherapy with surgery and chemotherapy, but also often teleradiotherapy with brachytherapy.

Brachytherapy plays an important role in the treatment of breast cancer and is most often used after surgical removal of a breast tumor. Its aim is to reduce the risk of cancer recurrence. – In some well-defined cases, it can be used alone (APBI - accelerated partial breast irradiation, accelerated irradiation of the breast quadrant where the tumor was located). More often, however, it is combined with teleradiotherapy of the entire breast or breast and regional lymph nodes in order to administer a higher dose in the area after the removed tumor. Brachytherapy is particularly beneficial for patients who have narrow margins of healthy tissue between the tumor and the surgical incision border.– explains Dr. Marcin Hetnał.

The enormous effort of doctors and specialists is aimed at improving the standard of living of oncology patients. Radiotherapy is supposed to have as few side effects as possible, so in the case of breast cancer in lower-risk influenza patients, irradiation of the entire breast is omitted, focusing on a part of it, the therapy is planned in such a way as to spare the heart and the other breast. The risk of complications that may appear 10 or more years after the therapy is reduced. This shows the time perspective in which the impact of treatment on the patient's life is analyzed.

 

The text was published by Gazeta Wyborcza on January 30, 2021 in the supplement "Women's health".

You can also read the entire supplement here _2021_01_30_okzrp210130.pdf Women's Health newspaper

Due to the great interest in the September culinary workshops for patients and their caregivers, the Amethyst Radiotherapy Center invites you to its November edition.

Nutrition during cancer plays an extremely important role, and cancer patients are particularly exposed to nutritional deficiencies and life-threatening malnutrition. Dietitian Ewa Ceborska-Scheiterbauer will talk about how to monitor the patient's nutritional status, adapt dietary recommendations to his nutritional requirements, create an optimal menu and use high-quality and low-processed products.

After the lecture, participants will be able to take part in a culinary show and workshop. They will learn how to prepare nutritious and balanced meals that are the basis of the cancer diet.

The meeting will start on November 26 at 11.00.

The seminar conducted by Dr. Marcin Hetnal, medical director of the Amethyst Radiotherapy Center, is a part of the pulmonology classes. The topic covers lung cancer and ways of treating it. The seminar is addressed to first-year students of the Faculty of Medicine. The first three took place on Friday, March 3, and the next ones will take place on March 8 and 14.

Krakow Academy. Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski is the first non-public university in Poland to be authorized to conduct studies in medicine. In October 2016, she started training future doctors. In 2 years, students will discuss oncology problems during classes, including: also with Dr. Marcin Hetnal.