Treatment of Prostate Cancer in the Leading Hospitals

Being diagnosed with prostate cancer means that you will need to undergo one of the therapies your cancer care team offers. In the specialized hospitals doctors carry out transurethral, laparoscopic and robot-assisted surgeries, different types of radiation therapy, therapy with Lutetium-177 and Actinium-225, hormone therapy, immunotherapy, targeted therapy, and other options. After the treatment of prostate cancer abroad, survival reaches 98%, and most men preserve a normal erection and urinary continence.

Treatment of early-stage cancer

Malignancies of the prostate gland grow slowly, so in some men, there is no need for immediate treatment. Doctors recommend active surveillance (PSA blood test every six months, digital rectal examination every 12 months, biopsy and imaging tests every 1-3 years) or watchful waiting (focusing on symptoms and having fewer tests).

In the presence of indications, prostatectomy is performed. This can be transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP), laparoscopic or open radical prostatectomy, as well as robot-assisted (da Vinci robot) laparoscopic radical prostatectomy. Laparoscopic interventions are more sparing, while open ones allow removing affected lymph nodes, intestines, etc. Thus, it is better to choose the healthcare facilities where surgeons are keen on all types of interventions and are able to switch between them, if necessary.

Radiation therapy can be an alternative to surgery in men with small and low grade tumors. In such cases it is often combined with hormone therapy. However, indications to radiation therapy are not limited by such cases; it can also be used after surgery or after the disease recurrence. Doctors use external, conformal (3D), hypofractionated, and internal (“gold seed”) radiation therapy.

Treatment of advanced cancer

Men with advanced cancer stages often have distant metastases. Specialized hospitals fight metastases in bones and internal organs with the help of PSMA-therapy with Lutetium-177 and Actinium-225. These are radiopharmaceuticals that precisely target metastatic foci and preserve healthy tissues and bone marrow. When a man has only bone metastases, radionuclide therapy with Radium-223 can be carried out.

Other options for men with advanced cancer are hormonal therapy, targeted therapy and immunotherapy. Chemotherapy is currently used less often. Tumor board members elaborate individual combinations of these systemic treatments and carefully monitor a patient’s response to them.

If necessary, symptomatic remedies are administered in order to improve quality of a patient’s life and reduce undesirable side effects of medications.

Hospitals and prices for prostate cancer treatment

Prostate cancer is best treated at the Departments of Urology of multidisciplinary hospitals. In such hospitals, a large team of healthcare professionals (i.e. a tumor board) is engaged in the therapeutic process. Currently the best healthcare facilities for prostate cancer treatment are:

• Helios Hospital Berlin-Buch
• University Hospital of Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich
• University Hospital Ulm
• Urology Hospital Munich-Planegg Munich
• University Hospital Frankfurt-am-Main

You can find the full list of the best hospitals for prostate cancer treatment on the Booking Health website. At the same page you can get acquainted with prices for medical services. For instance, the average cost of da Vinci prostatectomy is 18,900 EUR, the average cost of transurethral resection of prostate is 11,150 EUR, and the average cost of Lu-177 PSMA therapy is 18,000 EUR.

The final individual cost of treatment is estimated after the initial examination.

Planning prostate cancer treatment abroad

Due to the development of medical tourism, you no longer have to undergo prostate cancer diagnostics and treatment only in your country of residence. With correctly prepared documents and invitation for treatment, you can be on the waiting list of any hospital in the world.

If you don’t have relevant experience or need an urgent appointment, it will be better to contact the certified medical tourism provider – Booking Health. For over 12 years Booking Health helps men with prostate cancer to:

• Choose the specialized hospital and physician
• Choose the most suitable and novel treatment method
• Make an urgent appointment
• Receive invitation for treatment and medical visa
• Book tickets, transfer, accommodation
• Translate medical reports
• Exclude additional fees for foreigners from the final calculation
• Find an interpreter
• And much more

You can contact Booking Health by phone or fill in the “Need help” form on the website. Medical advisor will call you back the same day and provide you with all the necessary guidance.