Swiss Medical Network’s key objective is to ensure patients have access to a wide-ranging and multidisciplinary healthcare offer with personalised medical management, throughout each phase of their treatment.
Focusing exclusively on the best interests of patients, the network guarantees privileged access to leading-edge treatments, advanced medical technologies and efficient therapeutic strategies, tailored to individual needs.
Chemotherapy is the use of medicines or chemicals (cytostatics) to kill cancer cells or to prevent them from multiplying. There are more than 100 different cytostatics that are carefully selected according to each cancer type and stage of the disease. They are often combined to increase treatment efficiency.
Chemotherapy can be administrated by infusion, injection or tablets. This form of therapy is used in many cancer types and may be used post-surgery and/or radiation therapy (adjuvant chemotherapy) to destroy any remaining cancer cells.
Hormone therapy aims to reduce or prevent the production of specific hormones that stimulate cancerous tumour growth. Such treatment is only suitable for «hormone-dependent» tumours such as cancerous breast or uterus tumours that are typically hormone dependent. Similarly, prostate cancer is sensitive to the male sex hormone, testosterone.
Hormone therapy can only be prescribed after the analysis of cancerous tissue, to detect sensibility to hormone action.
Immunotherapy does not specifically target a tumour but consists of medication to activate and strengthen the body’s natural defences, called an immune response to fight cancer.
There is a difference between more common general immunotherapy and less frequent local immunotherapy.
This procedure uses a group of drugs that selectively intervene in certain tumour cell processes. These medications block tumour growth/or slow down its metabolism.
Like immunotherapy, targeted therapies combined with conventional therapies such as chemotherapy are proving successful in treating certain cancer types. Depending on certain molecular alterations, targeted therapy can be the most effective treatment.
Radiotherapy, also known as Radio-oncology, is a specific oncological treatment that exposes a defined body area to high-dose radiation, directly targeting the tumour. Radiation destroys cancer cells and prevents them from dividing. Therefore, tumour growth is stopped or slowed.
Radiotherapy involves multidisciplinary care and requires the expertise of a wide range of specialists, including radiologists, nuclear medicine specialists, pathologists, radiotherapists, oncologists and surgeons.
Tumour board meetings with specialists from the above medical fields, alongside care providers, are organised on a weekly basis. Together, they discuss each new patient case to define tailor-made cancer treatment protocols.
Our specialists provide surgeries using the latest medical techniques with leading-edge equipment at the forefront of technological innovation.
Our team of oncology specialists have extensive knowledge in the latest technology and offer the best in oncology care based on a global and interdisciplinary approach: Tumour Board case-by-case assessment by a team of specialists within the Swiss Medical Network group, including external professors and referral physicians, who carefully analyse and discuss the most suitable treatments for each patient.
We can help you with visa applications, hotel reservations, if necessary, and transportation services. We have our own limousine service and can arrange airport transfers or any other transfers you may need during your stay. We will also be happy to adapt the meal options according to your needs.
Among our staff members, we have medical coordinators who speak the following languages: French, English, German, Russian, Italian and Chinese.
If your language is not among those spoken, we can arrange for a translator to assist you during your medical consultations and/or therapies.
Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in women. A breast tumour is an agglomeration of cells that can be identified and seen on an x-ray or felt as a mass. When the disease is advanced and cells have migrated to other organs through the lymph nodes, this is called metastatic breast cancer.
Several uncontrollable risk factors are linked to breast cancer – age or genetics (inheriting a gene mutation). However, certain personal lifestyle choices also appear to be risk factors – being overweight, leading a sedentary life, tobacco, alcohol, or excessive consumption of unhealthy and processed foods.
Breast cancer symptoms may vary from lumps or skin changes, breast or nipple pain, partial or full breast swelling, skin irritations, nipple colour change or a lump located under the arm area indicating the presence of a tumour. However, in many cases, the disease does not show any signs.
A breast cancer diagnosis is done by a doctor who is specialised in diagnosing breast issues. Commonly used technologies include breast ultrasounds, mammograms (a low-dose X-ray system), agnostic mammograms, breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and/or a biopsy (a breast tissue sample for analysis).
Treatment options depend on the stage of breast cancer. Often breast cancer treatments are combined and include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation (radiotherapy), radio-oncological procedures and (anti-) hormone therapy. Targeted therapies such as antibody therapy, and immuno-oncological therapies to activate the body’s own immune system to fight cancer are also used.
Commonly known as colon cancer, colorectal cancer refers to unhealthy cells in the colon or rectum, which multiply anarchically. The colon is the large intestine or large bowel and the rectum is the passageway that connects the colon to the anus.
The absence of physical activity, being overweight and obesity. A diet low in fibre (insufficient fruit and vegetables) but rich in fat are potential risk factors to develop the disease.
A medical exam called a colonoscopy is carried out and tissue samples are collected from specific areas. If identified, small polyps can also be removed during the examination.
The choice of treatment depends on the stage of the disease. At an early stage, surgery is the most common therapy, if the tumour has not yet spread elsewhere.
However, in advanced stage colorectal cancer surgical treatment is combined with radiotherapy or chemotherapy.
Lung cancer is formed from bronchial mucus cells and may spread to lymph nodes or other organs, such as the brain. When cancer cells migrate from one organ to another, this is known as metastases.
Lung cancer is the second most common type of cancer among men and the third among women.
Major risk factors include smoking or passive smoking and, in some cases, breathing radioactive noble gas, as well as air pollution (fine particles). However, for unknown reasons, lung cancer also occurs in individuals who have never smoked or even been exposed to passive smoke or pollution. Sometimes, identifying the origin of the disease is impossible.
Lung cancer is diagnosed by imagery via a lung x-ray. If the exam indicates any suspect information, further examinations are carried out such as bronchoscopy with additional imaging procedures. A Tomography CT can provide a 3D view inside the lungs. A bronchoscopy consists of collecting tissue samples for further analysis.
Lung cancer treatments vary according to the type and stage of cancer. Surgery may be recommended if the tumour is removable. Other considerations include the location of cancer and the patient’s overall health condition. If the disease has already formed metastases (spread to neighbour organs) when the cancer is discovered, chemotherapy and radiotherapy may be advocated.
Located below the bladder and beside the rectum, the prostate is a gland that is part of the male reproductive system. Prostate cancer develops when cells in the prostate gland grow anarchically.
Generally, prostate cancer risk increases with age. However, other known factors include genetic mutations, family medical history of breast, ovarian colon or pancreatic cancers, bad nutrition and even exposure to certain types of chemicals and endocrine disruptors.
There are no specific prostate cancer symptoms in the early phase. The following symptoms can occur when the disease is more advanced:
Prostate cancer is diagnosed by means of a prostate biopsy, which consists of collecting prostate gland tissue for cell examination.
Prostate cancer treatment depends on different parameters such as the stage of disease advancement, tumour size and whether the tumour has already spread to other organs. Radiotherapy may be prescribed to prevent sick cells from spreading and also with the goal of eradicating them. For specific cases, Cyberknife® radiotherapy is recommended and the tumour can be eradicated in a few sessions only. Other therapies such as brachytherapy, high-intensity focused ultrasounds or surgical procedures with a prostatectomy (removal of the prostate) may be recommended.
Bowel cancer is the development of a tumour in the rectum, more specifically between the end of the large intestine and the anus.
Alcohol consumption, smoking or a diet low in fibre are potential risk factors. Additionally, individuals with a family colorectal cancer history or certain hereditary cancer syndromes have a higher risk of developing bowel cancer.
Rectal cancer is usually diagnosed in patients aged 50 or more. However, the disease can develop at any age. When there is a suspicion of disease, medical procedures to confirm the diagnosis include a proctoscopy. Using a proctoscopy and its small camera, the physician is able to examine the anal cavity and rectum. If a tumour is found, it is measured and precisely located. A biopsy may be required. This consists of removing a small piece of tissue for analysis.
Rectal cancer treatment largely depends on the stage of the disease. If no cancer metastasis has taken place, surgical treatment is the best option. Radiation treatment (Papillon 50) and chemotherapy may also be administered.
Pancreatic cancer is the presence of malignant tumours in the pancreas, a vital organ located behind the stomach.
The causes of pancreatic cancer are multifactorial and include factors such as age, smoking, family history, specific genetic mutations, chronic pancreatitis, and diabetes.
A pancreatic cancer diagnosis typically involves a combination of tests such as a medical history assessment, a physical examination and various imaging investigations. If symptoms or disease suspicions exist, a CT scan, an MRI and an endoscopic ultrasound may be carried out to visualize the pancreas to accurately detect abnormalities. Pancreatic enzyme levels are also analysed by means of a blood test. A pancreatic biopsy (small tissue sample of the pancreas) confirms the diagnosis and provides essential information regarding the cancer type, stage and scope.
Early and precise diagnosis is vital for planning effective treatment and improving outcomes for pancreatic cancer patients.
Various treatment options are available to efficiently address pancreatic cancer. These include a spectrum of pancreatic surgery procedures, such as:
The key treatment objective is to preserve pancreatic function, alleviate symptoms, and, whenever possible, eliminate damaged tissues and tumours for improved patient outcome.
Treatment decisions are tailored, taking into account the patient's overall health, the stage of cancer and the extent of tumour involvement.
