Every single cancer diagnosis is a shock: around 8,500 Upper Austrians are confronted with it every year. You will be treated and cared for in the Upper Austria Tumor Center according to the same current standards – regardless of whether you live in Bad Ischl, Braunau or Freistadt. By networking all hospitals, those affected can be guaranteed top-quality medical care close to home. Doctors everywhere are implementing the same guidelines.
The foundation for the cooperation between all hospitals, which is unique in Austria, was laid 13 years ago. The gap has now been closed with the addition of the Kepler University Hospital, the Wels-Grieskirchen Clinic and the Braunau Clinic.
Oncologist Ansgar Weltermann from the Ordensklinikum Linz, who is considered the driving force behind the center, has been there from the beginning. “New medications and surgical techniques increase the chance of survival – more than 50 percent of all people who get cancer can be cured,” says Weltermann. Depending on the disease, experts at different hospital locations discuss the different cases every week in special tumor boards. We assess the situation together and discuss the best treatment. This means the patient automatically receives a second or third opinion.
All hospitals connected
“This network, which is unique in the German-speaking region, ensures comprehensive cancer care for the Upper Austrian population at the highest level,” says health officer and deputy state governor Christine Haberlander (VP). The Upper Austria Tumor Center already meets 100 percent of the EU target requirement, according to which 90 percent of patients should be cared for in such a center by 2030.
Strong together
“A therapy that is still state of the art today may no longer be the case tomorrow due to new study results,” says Weltermann. It is hardly possible for an individual doctor to stay up to date with all types of cancer. This can only be achieved in the network.
This development does not stop at any specialty in oncology. Not only do internal oncologists and surgeons have to specialize in certain diseases, but also nurses and experts in pathology, radiology and radiation therapy. This is the only way they can meet modern quality demands.
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Author
Barbara Rohrhofer
Head of Life and Health Editorial Team
Barbara Rohrhofer
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