Russian cancer treatment centers: Where to go

16:50 13/11/2013

The Moscow News

The diagnosis of cancer no longer means a death sentence for the patient. Russia’s healthcare system has made significant progress in this field recently. Specialist care for cancer patients is now available in many of the country’s regions, not just in Moscow.

A special navigator will help Russians find the institution at the most convenient location where they can seek assistance.

The success of the treatment largely depends on a timely diagnosis, on the patient being organized and consistent in taking action and on cooperation with the specialist. Knowing where to go plays an invaluable role here.

The navigator of Russian cancer treatment centers prepared by RIA Novosti as part of its Social Navigator project will help those who want to have a check-up “just in case,” as well as those in need of cancer treatment.

Diagnosed with cancer. What next?

Unfortunately, routine professional check-ups which would help diagnose cancer at an early stage are not widely available in Russia. Russians tend to consult a doctor only after definite symptoms have surfaced. With cancer, by that stage it is often too late.

Some changes for the better have become evident recently. The Healthcare Ministry issued a statement on November 27 requiring every adult to apply for a routine physical examination once every three years, starting from 2013 (http://ria.ru/society/20121127/912379742.html).

If the government financing for this initiative proves sufficient, many Russian patients will be able to be diagnosed earlier and will stand a far greater chance of recovery.

In any case, whenever a patient is diagnosed with cancer, the first thing to do is to have it confirmed by another doctor, and the next step is to begin treatment immediately. The doctor who issued the diagnosis is expected to work out an action plan. However, the patient should not just passively go with the flow, doctors say.

It often happens that the oncologist at their community outpatient clinic does not have the time to discuss the whole range of treatment methods available with the patient, Nailya Panarina, a physician from the Obninsk Medical Radiological Research Center, told RIA Novosti.

“There is a wide variety of cancer treatment programs, specialists and clinics. There are many open sources of the required information. The ultimate responsibility for choosing the treatment program and the doctor lies with the patient. It is wrong to dodge this responsibility,” she added.

A difficult choice

In choosing the clinic and the doctor, the key rule is to choose conventional medicine and oncology professionals rather than alternative treatments, said Dmitry Borisov, Chairman of the Public Council for Protection of Patients' Rights at the Moscow Department of the Federal Service on Survelliance in Healthcare.

“It would be a mistake to listen to all those alleged miracle workers who assure people that they can cure cancer with unconventional practices,” he said. “There are multiple known cases where people simply lose time in resorting to these methods and eventually die when they could have been saved.”

The Internet offers a range of useful information about cancer treatment. The point is to carefully select the websites that are run by professional medical or public organizations.

Patients can also apply for information and consultation to various foundations that support cancer patients and receive help free of charge.

Emotional support

Doctors say that the patient’s family must be closely involved in what is happening. Although many types of cancer can now be diagnosed at an early stage and successfully treated, the very idea of having cancer often renders people unable to listen to reason and make informed decisions.

“When left to face the disease alone, people often lose courage. The patient’s family should provide enormous emotional support, and very much depends on this,” Panarina said.

At the same time, cancer patients often suffer from the unavailability of professional psychological help, which is not included in the national cancer treatment routines financed by the government. A therapist could help cancer patients accept their condition and take a reasoned approach to treatment, and later adapt to normal life when the treatment is over. In this respect, Russia lags behind developed countries such as Germany.

“Russian healthcare standards provide the required cancer tests and surgery,” she said. “But what next? How about post-treatment observation and support, or psychotherapy? None of this is provided. A woman emerges from a clinic after breast surgery and has no idea how to deal with the enormous stress she is under. She needs to be prepared, psychologically. Someone needs to explain to her how to live with it.”

Non-profit cancer foundations often come to the patient’s rescue in such a situation. Psychologists who work for these foundations have been trained in special techniques to help these patients.

“Even if a patient believes they are strong and confident enough to go through this and survive alone, this does not always happen. It is better to have some form of guidance. Someone has to explain what the patient and their family need to do and how to behave,” Borisov said.

Access to help

It is no secret that with cancer, the demand for healthcare services exceeds supply in Russia. Regional and territorial cancer centers shoulder the greatest workload, serving the biggest numbers of people. At the same time, according to Borisov, improvements have begun.

Central clinics with high-tech equipment which offer innovative treatment methods do not have the capacity to treat all cancer patients. They have waiting lists and treatment quotas, which is definitely a problem.

Several large nuclear medicine centers are being established across Russia. Healthcare Minister Veronika Skvortsova said in a recent speech that these centers are to combine treatment practice with scientific research (http://ria.ru/society/20121121/911626351.html). They will include diagnostic radiology departments, positron emission tomography centers, X-ray and radionuclide therapy facilities.

This is definitely good news. However, some doctors are skeptical. In their view, large clinics are good for the development of new methods of diagnosis, such as positron emission tomography – which require sophisticated equipment that cannot be installed in every local center. On the other hand, large centers do not work for treatment routines. How can a rural resident get to a large center located miles away?

“I believe that treatment centers which offer regular consultations and routine treatment do not need to be that big,” Panarina said. “They should specialize in specific fields and be close to where people live. A men’s health center would specialize in urology, and a women’s center in gynecology.”

Cancer patients have a range of treatment opportunities, as well as rights guaranteed by the state, specialists say. It is important to use these opportunities wisely and consistently to achieve recovery.