Diagnosis and Treatment Abroad: The Real Stories of Romanians
In the series “Diagnosis and Treatment Abroad: The Real Stories of Romanians,” published on Money.ro in collaboration with tratamentestrainatate.ro, we present today a story about a medical decision made in a few hours — and about how much a second opinion can matter before accepting a major and irreversible surgical intervention.
It is not a story about cancer discovered late. It is not a story about complex treatments abroad.
It is the story of a 40-year-old woman who was recommended a radical hysterectomy without a biopsy — and who came home with a 15-minute procedure and a negative result for cancer.
A major irreversible surgical intervention should never be performed without prior histopathological confirmation of the diagnosis. Elena’s story shows why a second opinion can make the difference between a radically changed life and a normal one.
From the Money.ro editorial team | Interview conducted with an international medical facilitation consultant from tratamentestrainatate.ro
She called me one morning.
It was a woman. Her voice was not panicked — it was ice cold. The kind of calm you have when your brain has already processed what is coming and is trying to keep functioning.
“They told me I need a radical hysterectomy. Next week. Without a biopsy. They say it is clear on the imaging. What do I do?”
“It Is Clear on the Imaging”
Money.ro: What was the patient’s medical situation when she contacted you?
Consultant: Elena — I call her Elena, that is not her real name — was a woman of approximately 40 years old. She considered herself perfectly healthy. No major symptoms, no oncological history, nothing to prepare her for what she was about to hear.
She had gone to the hospital in her city for a routine investigation. And within a few hours she had learned that her life was about to change radically.
The recommendation she received was a radical hysterectomy — complete removal of the uterus, cervix, one or both ovaries and the fallopian tubes. A major, irreversible surgical intervention.
The reason: suspicion of ovarian or uterine cancer based on a standard CT scan.
Money.ro: What was the problem with this recommendation?
Consultant: The fundamental problem — and this is a basic rule of international gynecological oncology — was that there was no biopsy.
The doctors had told her that the CT images were clear enough and that the sample for testing would be taken after the hysterectomy was performed.
Translated into direct medical language: she was being asked to accept the complete removal of her reproductive organs before knowing with certainty that she had cancer.
This is not the standard procedure at reference oncological centers in the world. According to the guidelines of ESMO and NCCN, prior histopathological confirmation is mandatory before any major oncological intervention — except in situations of absolute emergency, which was not Elena’s case.
Money.ro: How was Elena emotionally at that moment?
Consultant: Devastated — but functional. One of those characters who, even in the darkest moment, looks for a solution instead of becoming paralyzed.
She understood what a radical hysterectomy means for a 40-year-old woman. It means a sudden hormonal drop and immediate entry into surgical menopause — with all the physical and psychological consequences that follow: hot flashes, anxiety, irritability, massive hormonal imbalance. It means the end of fertility. It means a permanent change in quality of life.
Before making the final decision, she wanted to know one thing: in other countries, and especially in Vienna, is the medical procedure the same?
The Next-Day Appointment
Money.ro: What did you do when she called?
Consultant: I scheduled her for the following day in Vienna — with a university professor, head of the department of obstetrics and gynecological oncology, trained and specialized at the University of Medicine in Vienna and at AKH Wien, director of a large Viennese hospital. One of the most experienced gynecological oncologists in Austria.
For Romanian patients seeking a gynecological second opinion in Vienna, access to this level of expertise is possible quickly — sometimes within 24-48 hours.
I helped her quickly get a plane ticket and accommodation near the hospital. I gave her the address where she needed to be the next morning.
The professor had asked to see her immediately — given the severity of the diagnosis and the medical path she had been set on.
Money.ro: How was the journey to Vienna?
Consultant: Elena was extremely affected. She simply did not know which direction to turn. In the morning she had been a person who considered herself perfectly healthy. In the evening she was boarding a plane to Vienna with a cancer diagnosis and a radical hysterectomy recommendation in hand.
This reversal of situation — from “I am healthy” to “I need major surgery next week” — in a matter of hours, is one of the most traumatic experiences a person can go through.
The Professor and the Correct Protocol
Money.ro: What happened at the consultation in Vienna?
Consultant: The professor received her immediately. He examined her directly, analyzed all the documents brought from Romania — including the CT images — and applied the standard protocol of reference oncological centers in Europe.
He said that after the first consultation he would determine what additional tests were necessary.
His conclusion, after the complete evaluation: the situation did not justify a radical hysterectomy without prior histopathological confirmation. What was visible on the imaging required a precise investigation before any major surgical decision.
His proposal: cervical conization.
Romanian patients who come to Vienna for gynecological cancer benefit from exactly this type of evaluation — rigorous, based on international protocols, without the pressure of time or limited resources.
Money.ro: What is conization and why is it so different from a hysterectomy?
Consultant: The difference is enormous — and this is the part that says everything about the importance of a second opinion.
Radical hysterectomy means complete removal of the uterus, cervix, ovaries and fallopian tubes. Major abdominal surgery, general anesthesia, hospitalization of 3-7 days, recovery of 4-8 weeks, permanent and irreversible hormonal and physical consequences.
Cervical conization means the removal of a small cone-shaped fragment from the cervix — exclusively for precise diagnosis, meaning an extended biopsy. A procedure of 15-30 minutes under local anesthesia. Same-day discharge. Rapid recovery. No hormonal consequences. No impact on fertility in simple cases.
From a major irreversible surgical intervention — to a half-hour procedure with same-day discharge.
This is the difference that a correctly applied medical protocol can make.
The Result That Closed the Nightmare
Money.ro: What happened after the conization?
Consultant: The professor performed the conization. Elena went home to Romania the following day — to wait for the biopsy result.
The result came. It was negative for cancer.
She did not have cancer. She had a small, completely normal cervical lesion — the kind of lesion that is monitored periodically and does not require any major surgical intervention.
Every 6 months she goes for a routine check-up. Years have passed since then. Nothing has happened since.
Money.ro: How did Elena react when she received the result?
Consultant: She told me after returning to Romania, once she had calmed down, that she had lived through a nightmare that would not end.
And that she had not believed it was possible for someone to help her reach these professors, to be received immediately and for everything to be so clear.
That phrase stayed with me. “I did not believe it was possible.”
For me, that is the reason tratamentestrainatate.ro exists — so that things that seem impossible become possible. Quickly. Before an irreversible decision is made.
If you are in this situation, the medical scheduling in Vienna can be done in 24-48 hours — with the complete file prepared and translations included.
What Elena’s Story Teaches Us
Money.ro: What conclusion do you draw from this case?
Consultant: That a major irreversible surgical intervention should never be accepted without prior histopathological confirmation of the diagnosis.
This is not a controversial principle — it is the mandatory standard at any reference oncological center in the world. CT and MRI are valuable investigations, but they do not replace a biopsy. Imaging can raise suspicions — the biopsy confirms or rules out.
In Elena’s case, the difference between the two approaches was the difference between a permanently changed life and a normal one. Between a major surgery with irreversible hormonal consequences and a 15-minute procedure.
And the difference cost a plane ticket and a consultation in Vienna.
Money.ro: What advice do you give a woman who receives a hysterectomy recommendation?
Consultant: Not to accept any major gynecological surgical intervention without a prior biopsy — regardless of what she is told about the clarity of the imaging.
And to seek a second opinion before signing any surgical consent.
Not because her doctor is necessarily wrong. But because an irreversible intervention deserves the absolute certainty that it is necessary. And absolute certainty comes from a single source: histopathology — meaning the biopsy.
If you are in this situation — or if you know someone who is — call us before making any decision.
Call us ☎ 0754 225 262. We analyze the situation. We tell you quickly what and how. Information about medical facilitation services is available on the website: tratamentestrainatate.ro/servicii/
What is tratamentestrainatate.ro
Elena’s story is not unique. Every year, dozens of Romanian patients receive recommendations for major gynecological interventions without the prior histopathological confirmation that is mandatory in international protocols.
tratamentestrainatate.ro exists to provide rapid access to a second opinion — before an irreversible decision is made. It facilitates gynecological oncological second opinion in Vienna, evaluation by specialized professors from Vienna, Israel and Turkey, molecular testing and complete medical case management.
Hospitals are recognized in the Newsweek World’s Best Hospitals 2026{target=”_blank” rel=”nofollow noopener noreferrer”} ranking.
Elena is a real patient whose identity has been anonymized. tratamentestrainatate.ro is an administrative and logistical facilitation company — it does not provide medical services and does not establish diagnoses or treatments.
