Colon Cancer Treatment

Colon cancer treatment in Israel is carried out by leading surgeons and oncologists at Herzliya Medical Center Private Hospital. A joint effort with leading institutes of oncology specialists allows hospitals to introduce innovative technologies of diagnosis and treatment of tumors of the gastrointestinal tract, reaching impressive results in all stages of the disease. Herzliya Medical Center Private Hospital meets the highest standards of quality of care and safety, with excellent medical staff, creating an atmosphere conducive for a speedy recovery.

What is Colon Cancer?

Colon cancer is a malignant tumor that develops from the epithelial cells of the inner (mucosal) shell. The uncontrolled growth of cancer cells leads to a tumor mass filling the intestinal lumen and disruption of its terrain. It is important to note that this type of cancer is capable of germinating through all layers of the affected intestine, extending to nearby organs of the abdominal cavity, as well as metastasizing to nearby lymph nodes and other parts of the body. More often bowel cancer develops from the so-called precancerous diseases – polyps, but a timely diagnosis helps prevent the development of this disease.

Colon cancer symptoms

The main signs of colon cancer, which require immediate differential diagnosis are:

• A tendency to irrational and prolonged constipation or diarrhea, and a feeling of incomplete bowel movement
• The presence of blood in the stool
• Unexplained weight loss
• Anemia (anemia) as a consequence of chronic blood loss, as well as signs of iron deficiency in routine blood studies
• In the advanced stages of the disease, signs of intestinal obstruction may show – abdominal pain, bloating, nausea, vomiting, and signs of acute intoxication. Ileus is an urgent surgical condition that threatens the patient’s life and requires immediate treatment
• Symptoms of metastatic lesions of the internal organs are in the background of the symptoms mentioned above

A timely diagnosis of colon cancer significantly improves the prognosis of a full recovery, therefore when the first symptoms of suspected malignancy arise, one should immediately seek medical assistance.

Diagnosis of colon cancer in Israel

At Herzliya Medical Center Private Hospital, patients undergo diagnosis with modern equipment to identify the disease in its early stages of development and to accurately assess the degree of the damage done by the most common forms of cancer. The main methods of diagnosing colon cancer in Israel are:

• Fecal occult blood tests, including an immunochemical test method which has high sensitivity and allows you to diagnose intestinal bleeding
• Endoscopic examination of the intestine – Colonoscopy with flexible optical devices, allowing not only to assess the condition of the intestinal mucosa but to conduct a biopsy of suspected intestinal tumor sites
• Video capsule endoscopy – a minimally invasive method of examination of the gastrointestinal tract using a remote video camera
• A histological examination of tissue samples taken by biopsy helps in establishing a definitive diagnosis
• Estimating the size, location and availability of neoplasms in other organs is carried out by using modern radiological and visual research methods including ultrasound, CT, PET-CT, and MRI. One of the innovative noninvasive diagnosis of the large intestine is a virtual colonoscopy – a kind of computed tomography with the possibility of determining pathological processes with high accuracy

Colon cancer treatment in Israel

Oncologists at HMC apply the most effective treatments for colon cancer in Israel, among them:

• Colectomy, proctocolectomy – a surgery for colon cancer in order to remove the primary lesion and the surrounding lymph nodes. Recent advances allow surgery in most cases to be carried out using laparoscopy (without the need of a wide cut) with immediate internal anastomosis (connection) and sections of the intestine. In cases where it is impossible to hold a one-stage anastomosis print the temporary stoma – an artificial opening for the elimination of feces is formed
• Chemotherapy and targeted therapy are effective as a primary or secondary treatment and are used in conjunction with the surgical removal of the tumor

Experts at HMC have enormous clinical experience in colon cancer surgery and treatment; patients are guaranteed to receive successful treatment and a speedy recovery.