Ovarian cancer is the sixth most common cancer in women after cancer of the breast, colon, lung, uterus and lymphomas. Parc Taulí is a reference center for ovarian cancer surgery for the territory of Vallès Occidental and Bages. In 2020, 34 ovarian neoplasm surgeries were performed at Parc Taulí.
The Functional Ovarian Cancer Unit of Parc Taulí, with a long history, has been, since 2019, a reference in the care of this pathology for the whole of Vallès Occidental and Bages, as a result of CatSalut's instruction to rearrange and concentrate on highly specialized cancer care. Within this framework, the Territorial Committee of Vallès Occidental and Bages was created, made up of expert professionals from Parc Taulí, the Terrassa Health Consortium, the MútuaTerrassa University Hospital and the Althaia Foundation of Manresa, chaired by the gynecologist. of the Parc Taulí, Laia Ribot.
The Unit is made up of professionals from the Parc Taulí of gynecology, general surgery, medical oncology, pathology, radiotherapy oncology, diagnostic imaging, nuclear medicine, palliative care, anesthesia, oncogeriatrics and psychooncology, as well as a secretary and a manager of cases. Occasionally, professionals from areas such as thoracic surgery and urology may also be involved.
The face-to-face or online sessions of this Unit also include gynecologists and oncologists from other centers, for the presentation of their cases, so that all patients who come for the therapeutic assessment of any center in the Territorial Functional Unit, follow the same care circuit.
Professionals hold multidisciplinary meetings for each patient where a therapeutic decision is made and a visit is scheduled with the specialist who will perform the first care. From the assessment of the patient in the Functional Unit will come the final therapeutic decision. Cases with staging in which a debulking surgery is required (a specific surgical technique) are referred to Parc Taulí, but the previous and / or subsequent oncological treatments, and the follow-up of the patient, are carried out in their care center. origin.
With the creation of the Territorial Committee of Vallès Occidental and Bages of the Functional Unit of Ovarian Cancer, the figure of the case manager was incorporated, as a backbone for the improvement of the care and coordination of the processes of diagnosis, treatment , accompaniment and follow-up of patients. Its function is to coordinate the monitoring of the care process from the moment of diagnosis and includes administrative tasks (case presentation to committee, scheduling of visits) and nursing tasks (specialized telephone care for patients, visits, care and support to patients and relatives). The case manager of the Territorial Committee of the Functional Unit is the nurse at Parc Taulí, Pilar Baró.
First cause of death from gynecological cancer
Ovarian cancer is one of six types of gynecologic cancer, along with endometrial, uterine, cervical, ovarian, vaginal, and vulvar cancers, each with different symptoms and treatments. In Spain, endometrial cancer is the most prevalent (6,7%), followed by ovarian cancer (4,7%) and cervical cancer (4,5%). As a whole, about 100 new cases of gynecological cancers are treated annually at Parc Taulí.
Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of death from gynecological cancer, as 80% of cases are detected when the symptoms are very obvious and the disease is very advanced. The profile of the affected patients is that of women between 50 and 75 years old, and their survival at more than 5 years is 44%. Alert symptoms are usually vaginal bleeding outside the cycle, during menopause or during sexual intercourse, abdominal distension, pelvic or abdominal pain, digestive problems, fatigue, back pain or need to urinate with higher frequency, among others.
The quality of surgery is a factor that improves the survival of ovarian cancer. Treatment in referral centers where more cases agglutinate improves the results of this surgery.
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