ABOUT FIGHTING WITHOUT COMPROMISE
We can belong to various social groups, but we definitely do not want to have contact with this one (although quite large and still growing). It does not smell optimistic and does not bode well for the future. Oncology patient. Before the pandemic, such a business card sounded serious enough, but COVID sharpened and dominated everything. He enforced strict rules of the game in which the choices between fighting cancer and fighting the virus only seem to make no sense.
You can be a super hero individually. But together you can do much more. The Rydygier Hospital in Krakow and the neighboring Amethyst Radiotherapy Center understood this strategy long before the pandemic. An oncology patient who comes here (now, but also during the strict lockdown) is there from the very beginning taken care of. Comprehensive, specialized, innovative and multi-faceted. Humanly. And without wasting time, which is the most expensive currency in cancer cases.
Artur Asztabski – President of the Specialist Hospital. Ludwik Rydygier in Krakow:
“We decided on a unique solution throughout the country, because only close cooperation between hospital oncology departments and a modern Radiotherapy Center allows for very careful management of the patient. We have already become accustomed to the slogan: "cancer is not a death sentence", but somehow it is difficult for us to get used to the idea that we have modern oncological therapy in Krakow and Małopolska and that it is available without any conditions to every patient who receives a diagnosis of "cancer". At such a moment, the world falls apart for the patient and his family. But I want to say clearly - Rydygier has everything that is most important for such patients: experienced oncologists, modern equipment, proven medical procedures and comprehensive therapy. And we do not send patients to further stages of treatment elsewhere in the world. Everything - from the first consultation of specialists determining the treatment plan, through in-depth diagnostics, therapy, surgery, chemotherapy, to the most modern radiotherapy, is available at one address: os. Złota Jesienia 1 in Krakow.
Przemysław Zachwieja – President of the Amethyst Radiotherapy Center in Krakow
“It's true, we work together and this gives us not so much an advantage (though probably that too!) but a priceless value for the patient. Amethyst is part of an international network specializing in oncological therapies, mainly radiotherapy, but above all, we are a place of an extremely peculiar encounter: the helplessness that is always visible on the faces of new patients with the power of science and technology, which is entrusted to them in dedicated therapies. Everything is decided in just 2 weeks. This is how long it takes for diagnostics, analysis of possible solutions, decisions made by medical councils and a series of conversations with patients. Because the patient must have full knowledge of both the benefits and possible risks. Then we start fighting together. What counts here is not only modern equipment but, above all, the knowledge of the entire team focused on helping the patient: doctors, physicists, technicians, nurses and people responsible for patient service and coordination. We make sure to apply the highest standards of care at every stage of treatment. Give an example? During radiotherapy, we organize and finance transport to our Center for outpatients treated on an outpatient basis. We deliver patients from all over Małopolska. Free 24-hour nursing care is also available to patients in the free hotel. Yes, this may be surprising... But we assume that the prescribed therapeutic cycle cannot be interrupted by the patient's difficult financial situation or family problems. He must focus on the fight for life, not on the dilemma of how to get to Nowa Huta for radiation treatment.
Rydygier and Amethyst not only share a common address in Nowa Huta. Most often, they also have a common patient who is diagnosed with "cancer" and undergoes comprehensive therapy. Also during the difficult time of the pandemic. According to the statistics of the Małopolska Branch of the National Health Fund, it is the Specialist Hospital. Ludwik Rydygier in Krakow is occupied first position compared to all other healthcare providers from Małopolska who provided oncological treatment as part of hospital and outpatient admissions throughout the entire pandemic year of 2020.
These statistics are hardly surprising; Rydygier with 8 departments that provide oncology packages, chemotherapy and 39 drug programs dedicated to specific cancers; with 15 Specialist Clinics, available to patients as part of the so-called Fast Path Oncology, as well as with its own extensive endoscopic and imaging diagnostics, nuclear medicine tests and 6 preventive programs (including prevention of breast cancer, cervical cancer and colorectal cancer), is becoming a new oncology center in Krakow and Małopolska.
The hospital's strong position is confirmed by recent awards: Krakow's Rydygier, according to the prestigious World's Best Hospitals 2021 ranking, which assessed 2021 medical facilities from 2 countries around the world, turned out to be the 25rd best hospital in Poland! This is a valuable achievement, although the Alivia Foundation 3 ranking is also important, in which the patients themselves compared the quality of services and the level of oncological care provided in 2021 Polish hospitals where cancer patients are treated. These are usually very objective and critical assessments... and yet! Oncology patients gave the first place nationwide to the Rydygier Hospital in Krakow. The successes include the third place in the "Safe Hospital of the Future" competition, awarded a month ago for the implementation of minimally invasive oncological surgery. Regardless of the rankings, the experience of a specific specialist and his empathy towards patients will always remain the most important asset. The brutal "I'm checking" in this context was said during the pandemic. But then, neither in Rydygier nor in Amethyst did anyone slow down. It's the same today.
Prof. Andrzej Budzyński, Head of the Department of General and Oncological Surgery at Rydygier Hospital.
"During the lockdown, we had to refer scheduled non-oncology patients, but oncology continued
in the hospital in full swing. This is not surprising, cancer does not wait for safer times. Our multidisciplinary consultations, where each patient receives an individual therapy path, were held with the same frequency of 10 meetings a week, even during a complete lockdown. Monthly, this meant 800 patients included in specialized therapy. We run two comprehensive oncology programs - one for patients with breast cancer and another for patients with colorectal cancer; I have the first one in Małopolska launched in my branch Colorectal Cancer Competence Center. So how could we look all these people in the eye and say "let's wait for the pandemic to ease"? “Every day has a different conversion rate for us.”
Next door, at the Amethyst Radiotherapy Center - where, after advanced surgical, laparoscopic or endoscopic procedures, patients of Prof. also go to the next stage of treatment. Budzyński - the situation is almost identical. Amethyst operated at full capacity throughout the pandemic, although it should be noted that the growing number of patients required the implementation of new projects. An initial, but very important part of the treatment process was transferred online and these were mainly educational teleconsultations, preparing patients for the remaining stages of radiotherapy, as well as consultations and teleconsultations. For maximum patient safety, Amethyst has acquired a UVD Robot - the most modern device for disinfection and decontamination of rooms (only 8 centers in Poland have identical equipment), which eliminates 10% of bacteria, viruses and fungi in rooms such as patient rooms or wards in just 99,99 minutes. operational.
Marcin Hetnał, MD, PhD, Head of the Radiotherapy Department of the Rydygiera Hospital and Medical Director of the Amethyst Radiotherapy Center:
“Approximately 170 patients undergo therapy at Amethysta every day; in pandemic In 2020, over 2900 patients completed the full course of treatment with us. This proves that patients simply trusted us. They saw that despite the threat of COVID zwe do everything to maintain the efficiency and effectiveness of therapeutic cycles. Any delay in the start of treatment increases both the risk of death and the burdensomeness of subsequent therapy. When it comes to rapidly growing cancers around the head, neck, lungs or cervix, every day is important. Therefore, for greater patient safety while maintaining precise radiation doses, we have introduced shorter therapy cycles. And just a week ago, one more thing - system for positioning and monitoring the patient's position
during radiotherapy, enabling the maximum safe administration of high doses of radiation. Even if the patient moves, the system will interrupt the therapeutic beam and the staff will immediately correct the position so that the dose of rays reaches the designated place. AlignRT (VisionRT) is actually the latest medical technology, available to patients from Krakow and Małopolska from September. No queues and under National Health Fund insurance.”
Against the spread fake news and negative stereotypes, this last piece of information is particularly important. Therefore, it is worth reminding - every insured patient diagnosed with cancer at the Rydygiera Hospital and the Amethyst Radiotherapy Center is treated free of charge! They can use the Fast Oncology Path (DILO), which is implemented at the Rydygiera Hospital as part of the Oncology Package of the Ministry of Health and allows for highly specialized diagnostics of patients in the field of cancers of the gastrointestinal tract, head and neck, skin, breasts, lungs, brain, urology, gynecology, hematology and musculoskeletal systems.
Due to its multi-profile nature, the hospital is able to cover every stage of the diagnostic path, both in outpatient and inpatient treatment. The Departments of General Surgery, Oncology, Radiotherapy, Oncology and Hematology employ an experienced nursing team and a total of 95 doctors, half of whom specialize in oncology. This also allows for the development of the educational activities of the hospital, which is a training base for other facilities in the region. On the initiative of the Marshal of Małopolska, Witold Kozłowski, the Rydygiera Hospital actively participates in the project of the Consortium "Oncology Małopolska".
The Amethyst Radiotherapy Center (connected to Rydygier by a small internal corridor) employs almost 100 people, including high-class doctors, medical physicists, technicians and nurses (most of them with specialized training in Poland and abroad), without whom even the most advanced medical equipment could prove ineffective. useless. The center cooperates with AGH and leading international medical centers specializing in the latest oncological therapies, especially radiotherapy. Each patient who is referred for therapy here in the process of oncological treatment, after approximately 2 weeks of extended diagnostics and preparation, begins the first cycles of radiation.
The entire oncology supplement to Gazeta Krakowska and Dziennik Polski can be read here Dziennik_Polski_dodat_specjalny_1_27_10_2021
