Cancer Treatment Abroad - Costa Rica - Procedures and Treatments

Our Patients are treated by a team of specialists tailored to meet a patient's individual needs. The team includes a medical oncologist, an oncological surgeon, a radiation oncologist, a pathologist, and other health care professionals.

There are four major types of cancer treatment: surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy. These therapies can be used either alone or in combination with each other. Location, size and stage of the tumor, as well as your overall health, determines which treatment or treatments you will receive. Many new treatments, including cancer vaccines and gene therapy, are being studied in clinical trials.

Current methods of cancer treatments in Costa Rica:

• Surgery is the oldest form of cancer treatment. About 60% of cancer patients will undergo some sort of surgery, either by itself or in combination with other therapies.
• Chemotherapy uses powerful drugs to kill cancer cells, control their growth, or to relieve pain symptoms.
• Radiation uses large doses of high-energy beams or particles to destroy cancer cells in a specifically targeted area.