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 an episode that answers one of the most frequent questions we receive:
"What can you concretely do for my case?"
The answer depends on one single thing: the complete and correct diagnosis. Everything derives from it — the treatment objective, the available solutions and the way they are implemented.
We present two real stories. One about complete cure. One about a good life — entire years of high quality, beyond any initial prognosis.
In modern oncology there are two clear objectives: cure when possible and prolonging life in good conditions when cure is not the main objective. Both are achievable — if the diagnosis is correct and the treatment is applied by the right people.
From the Money.ro editorial team | Interview conducted with an international medical facilitation consultant from tratamentestrainatate.ro
There is a question I receive in almost every conversation:
"But what does cancer treatment in Vienna or Israel actually mean? What do they do differently?"
The answer has two parts. And two real stories that illustrate it better than any explanation.
How Modern Oncological Treatment Works — In Plain Language
Money.ro: Before the stories — how does oncological treatment concretely work at reference centers in Vienna and Israel?
Consultant: There are two main objectives in modern oncology — and it is important to understand them clearly before anything else.
The first objective is complete cure — when the disease can be totally eradicated. The second objective is prolonging life in good conditions — when complete cure is not possible, but the patient can live entire years with a high quality of life, without invalidating pain, without permanent hospitalizations, without rapid deterioration.
Both are legitimate and achievable medical objectives. And both depend on the same foundation: the complete and correct diagnosis.
Money.ro: What does complete and correct diagnosis mean in oncology?
Consultant: It means that the doctor knows exactly what they are dealing with — not approximately, not on the basis of a single CT scan, but with certainty based on all relevant investigations.
Concretely, a specialized oncologist at a reference center in Vienna or Israel works permanently with:
Biopsy — taking a fragment from the tumor and analyzing it under a microscope. This confirms whether it is cancer, exactly what type and how aggressive it is. Without a biopsy there is no certain diagnosis — regardless of what the imaging shows.
PET-CT — an investigation that combines tomography with a radioactive tracer that concentrates in active cancer cells. It shows exactly where the disease is located throughout the entire body — including small metastases invisible on a standard CT scan. It is the oncologist's complete eye.
Tumor markers — blood tests that measure substances produced by cancer cells. They do not confirm the diagnosis alone — but they track evolution over time. If after treatment the marker decreases, the treatment is working. If it increases, something has changed.
Molecular testing — DNA and RNA analysis of the tumor that identifies specific mutations. Essential for knowing which targeted therapies or immunotherapies work exactly for the molecular profile of your specific tumor. → DNA and RNA molecular testing from the USA through tratamentestrainatate.ro
Continuous reevaluation — the diagnosis is not a fixed moment. It is a continuous process. Every 3-6 treatment cycles the investigations are repeated to see exactly how the tumor is responding. If it responds well — the treatment continues. If not — it is immediately changed to another treatment line. This is the difference between reactive oncology and proactive oncology.
Money.ro: And the implementation of treatment — how does it work?
Consultant: The implementation of treatment is just as important as choosing it. An excellent medication applied incorrectly does not work.
At reference centers in Vienna and Israel, treatment implementation includes several essential elements that Romanian patients do not always find at home.
Correct hydration — chemotherapy is toxic by definition. Adequate hydration before, during and after the infusion significantly reduces side effects — nausea, fatigue, renal toxicity.
Individualized toxicopharmacology — not all medications work the same for all patients. Each person's genetics influences how the body metabolizes chemotherapy drugs. Pharmacogenetic tests identify which medications work optimally for the patient's specific metabolism and what doses are safe — avoiding severe toxicity. A concrete example: DPYD genetic variants in some patients make standard chemotherapy with 5-fluorouracil extremely dangerous — the test identifies this before the first infusion.
Monitoring quality of life — throughout the entire treatment, the team actively monitors how the patient feels. It is not acceptable for the patient to vomit continuously, to lose 20 kilograms in a few weeks or to be unable to get out of bed. If these signs appear — the treatment is adjusted, doses are modified, support medications are changed. The objective is for the patient to live well while being treated — not to survive the treatment.
Now — the two real stories.
Story 1 — The Cure: Basal Cell Carcinoma and Mohs Surgery
Money.ro: The first story — about complete cure. Tell us the case.
Consultant: A woman of approximately 60 years old. She had noticed a small lesion on her face — something that initially seemed like a scar or a minor irritation. She went to the doctor. A biopsy was performed.
The diagnosis: basal cell carcinoma — the most common type of skin cancer. Apparently minor compared to other cancers — but the biopsy showed something worrying: infiltrative grade. Meaning the tumor was not staying at the surface of the skin — it was infiltrating deeply.
Money.ro: What does infiltrative grade mean and why does it change the approach?
Consultant: Ordinary basal cell carcinoma — superficial — can be treated relatively simply. There is even a prescription cream — Aldara, with the active substance imiquimod — which stimulates the local immune system to attack and destroy the cancer cells. Effective for superficial lesions, without surgical intervention, applied at home for several weeks.
But infiltrative grade changes everything. A lesion that infiltrates deeply cannot be treated with cream — the risk of recurrence is too high if any cancer cell remains in the depths.
The oncologist decided on Mohs surgery — a specialized surgical technique considered the gold standard for infiltrative facial basal cell carcinoma.
Money.ro: How does Mohs surgery work?
Consultant: Mohs surgery is a unique procedure — and the difference from ordinary surgical excision is fundamental.
In ordinary surgery, the surgeon excises the tumor with a safety margin and sends everything to the laboratory. The result comes in a few days — and if the margins are not clean, the patient returns for a new intervention.
In Mohs surgery, the surgeon excises the tumor layer by layer — and immediately analyzes each layer under a microscope, right in the operating room. The operation continues layer by layer until the margins are 100% clean — confirmed on the spot, in real time. This means that no cancer cell remains — and that healthy tissue is preserved to the maximum.
For a lesion on the face — where every millimeter matters aesthetically — this is the essential difference.
Money.ro: How did the recovery go?
Consultant: Because the excision had been deep — necessary for clean margins — the surgeon used a rotated skin flap from the adjacent area to cover the defect. A plastic reconstruction technique integrated into the same procedure.
The stitches were removed after two weeks. Complete recovery — three months. After one year, the lesion was almost invisible.
Completely cured. No recurrence. No visible trace.
This is step 1 applied perfectly: complete diagnosis with a biopsy that showed the real degree of severity, plus the choice of the optimal solution among those available — not the simplest, but the most correct for the specific case of a 60-year-old patient.
→ International oncological second opinion through tratamentestrainatate.ro
Story 2 — The Good Life: Colon Cancer with Metastases, Years of Quality
Money.ro: The second story — about prolonging life in good conditions. The case?
Consultant: A gentleman of 75 years old. No previous oncological medical history — healthy his entire life. The diagnosis came suddenly and completely: colon cancer with hepatic and bone metastases. Advanced stage.
Hepatic metastases mean that the primary tumor in the colon had sent cancer cells to the liver. Bone metastases mean that it had also sent them to the bones — and bones with metastases hurt. Constant pain, difficult to control, which significantly limits quality of life.
At 75 years old, with metastases in two different locations — many doctors could have said there was not much more to be done.
Money.ro: What was decided as the treatment plan?
Consultant: The oncological team — multidisciplinary tumor board, exactly as I described earlier — completely analyzed the case. PET-CT to see exactly the extent of the disease. Tumor markers for the baseline. Biopsy for confirmation of the exact type and molecular testing for the specific profile of the tumor.
Based on all this data the plan was established: chemotherapy combined with immunotherapy.
Money.ro: How did a 75-year-old patient tolerate the treatment?
Consultant: And this is one of the most important aspects — and one that frequently surprises patients' families.
Chemotherapy combined with immunotherapy, correctly applied, with adequate hydration, with dose adjustment based on individual tolerance and with well-chosen support medication — was surprisingly well tolerated.
The gentleman did not vomit continuously. He did not lose weight dramatically. He did not stay permanently in bed. He continued to have a life — reduced compared to what it had been before, but dignified and active within the limits of what was possible.
The chemotherapy reduced the tumor mass. The immunotherapy activated the immune system to continue the fight. And after the oncological treatment had done its work — a surgical cleaning intervention followed, for the removal of the remaining tumor tissue.
Money.ro: And the bone metastases — how were they managed?
Consultant: This is the component that many underestimate — and which makes an enormous difference in quality of life.
Bone metastases produce chronic pain. The standard treatment for pain in advanced stages is morphine — effective, but with significant side effects at high doses: drowsiness, constipation, dependence, alteration of the state of consciousness.
In this gentleman's case, a newer alternative was chosen — pills similar in mechanism to morphine, but in doses and formulations that do not produce the severe side effects of classic morphine. The pain was controlled. Quality of life was maintained.
The result: entire years of life after a diagnosis that seemed to leave little time. Years in which he was able to be with his family, was able to eat, was able to talk, was able to live — not perfectly, not as before, but with dignity and presence.
This is the objective of quality palliative treatment: not the number of days, but the quality of each day.
→ Complete medical case management through tratamentestrainatate.ro
What the Two Stories Teach Us
Money.ro: What conclusion do you draw from these two such different cases?
Consultant: That in modern oncology there is not a single type of success.
The success of the 60-year-old woman was complete cure — without a trace, without recurrence, without restrictions. Possible because the diagnosis was complete, the biopsy showed the real degree of severity and the chosen solution was the optimal one for the specific case.
The success of the 75-year-old gentleman was something else — and no less valuable. It was years of dignified life, alongside his family, with pain under control and with a present mind. Made possible because the medical team knew exactly what they were dealing with, chose the treatment appropriate to his individual tolerance and managed quality of life as a medical objective just as important as reducing the tumor.
Both were possible because the first step — the complete and correct diagnosis — was done well. And because behind each case there was a team that knew what to do with the information it obtained.
Money.ro: What advice do you give a patient or family who do not know whether there are still solutions for their case?
Consultant: Not to accept that there are no solutions before having verified with a specialized team that works daily with the patient's specific type of cancer.
And to understand that success does not always mean complete cure. Sometimes success means three good years instead of three months. It means Christmas with the family. It means being present at your child's wedding.
Modern medicine can do that. If it has all the correct information and if it is applied by the right people.
Call us. ☎ 0754 225 262 | We analyze the file. We tell you honestly what and how.
What is tratamentestrainatate.ro
The two stories in this episode illustrate exactly what we do at tratamentestrainatate.ro: we facilitate access to the complete diagnosis and optimal treatment — regardless of whether the objective is cure or the best possible quality of life.
We coordinate multidisciplinary tumor board evaluation, advanced molecular testing from the USA, oncological second opinion and complete medical case management — with centers recognized in the Newsweek World's Best Hospitals 2026 ranking from Vienna and Israel.
The patients presented in this episode are real people whose identities have been anonymized. tratamentestrainatate.ro is an administrative and logistical facilitation company — it does not provide medical services and does not establish diagnoses or treatments.
