The field of cardio-oncology, which deals with the connection between heart disease and cancer, has been developed in the world for many years and in Israel especially in the last decade. The development of the field is due to the increase in the number of patients with a longer life expectancy, when the success rates of cancer treatments are higher than they were in the past. However, these treatments sometimes have side effects that may affect the health of the heart and blood vessels. This condition may be caused by heart disease, risk factors, the progression of the oncological disease or by the use of chemotherapy and biological drugs that have the potential for cardiac damage.
Therefore, patients who are sick with cancer or those who have already recovered, are at risk of damage to the heart’s function, to the point of developing heart failure or other complications. In order to prevent cardiac damage among that population and to make patients aware of the risks, a more regulated collaboration between the fields of cardiology, oncology and hematology was initiated.
Prof. Dan Gilon, a senior physician in the cardiology department and head of the Cardio-Oncology Center at Hadassah describes: “Over the last decade, the insight has developed that special frameworks need to be adapted to raise the awareness of patients and doctors, to improve professional care and advance research. This is to provide a multidisciplinary response based on cardiology , in combination with oncologists and hematologists, to enable and ensure the optimal treatment for patients. Today, many more patients are recovering from cancer and living in good condition, but the treatments they underwent may have side effects that definitely require awareness and attention for years.”
This week, the Cardio-Oncology Center at the Hadassah Medical Center was officially recognized by the International Cardio-Oncology Association (ICOS) as Israel’s first center of excellence in the field of Cardio-Oncology.
The center was established about a decade ago under the leadership of Prof. Dan Gilon and the continuous and joint support of the heads of the cardiology, oncology and hematology department. Over 250 patients come to the center every year as part of the dedicated clinic, in addition to examinations by other doctors in the cardiology and oncology departments and various medical consultancies. “The cardiologists, with the main partners the oncologists and the hematologists, among other things, hold joint meetings on a monthly, weekly, and daily basis if required,” says Prof. Gilon. “We adapt the therapeutic approach from the cardiac point of view, in joint decisions, to allow cancer patients to receive the best and most appropriate oncology treatment.”
In addition, the cardio-oncology center in Hadassah is the first in Israel to teach medical students the field as part of the cardiology curriculum in the sixth year. In accordance with the official recommendations of the unions dealing in the field, the center also delivers lectures to the various departments in the hospital and in various settings, with the aim of raising awareness of the issue among all the medical staff, not just the doctors.
The field of cardio-oncology turns to serve a growing community, numbering about 400,000 people in Israel, of patients with malignant diseases, including and in addition those who have recovered from them and are at a higher risk of developing heart diseases of cancer survivors. The field continues to grow and develop in Israel and around the world and over time makes it possible to find better medical solutions for the patients: “The assessment and treatments performed at the center succeed in supporting and enabling the recovery of patients from malignant diseases in spite of heart diseases,” says Prof. Gilon. “The cardio-oncology center in Hadassah is an address for oncology patients and metologists who need the attention and involvement of cardiologists, in order to provide the best and most comprehensive treatment for them. The international recognition we received as the first center of excellence in Israel in the field of cardio-oncology is proof of the center’s real contribution to the advancement of the field in Israel and especially to treatment, healing and maintaining the patients’ quality of life.”
The CEO of Hadassah, Prof. Yoram Weiss, emphasized how significant the announcement by the International Association of Cardio-Oncology (ICOS), especially during the war: “The recognition of the Hadassah Cardio-Oncology Center as a center of excellence brings great pride to the entire Hadassah team, but beyond that, it is at the forefront And first of all, an unequivocal statement – especially these days, that research, science and the field of health are above any conflict and side in the war and that there are international officials who recognize the international contribution of Israeli action over the years and even now. This is recognition of Hadassah’s path, its values and its contribution accompanied by excellence in every medical and academic field And in the change it generates in the Israeli and global health system.”