CWZ awarded with European certificate for prostate cancer care
Since January 2016 the CWZ Department of Urology is officially certified as a European training centre for prostate cancer care. This certificate is awarded to centres where the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer is conducted at the highest level, following a joint review by the European Board of Urology (EBU) and the European Association of Urology (EAU). From all over Europe medical specialists (in training) are welcome at CWZ to participate in prostate cancer care according to the latest insights.
Prostate cancer care in CWZ
CWZ has been striving to excel for years in the field of prostate cancer care and is willing to spread the accumulated knowledge. The main reason to grant CWZ this EBU/EAU host centre certificate for five years (2016-2020) is the fact that CWZ treats large numbers of patients for prostate cancer, using the most innovative techniques such as, for example, innovative biopsy techniques for the diagnosis of prostate cancer (MR-TRUS fusion) and robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) and extended pelvic lymph node dissections with the most advanced surgical robot, the DaVinci Xi. Also, CWZ is one of the few hospitals in the Netherlands to use cryosurgery for the salvage treatment of recurrent prostate cancer after radiation therapy. Each patient presenting at our centre will be discussed multidisciplinary and receives an individual treatment plan using the most advanced imaging techniques available.
Transparency about outcomes
An important condition for obtaining the EBU/EAU host centre certification is transparency about the achieved outcomes of the treatment for prostate cancer. CWZ has been doing this in recent years, in collaboration with its partners in the Santeon-project Care for Outcome. Santeon is a Dutch hospital group treating approximately 15% of prostate cancer patients in the Netherlands and is continuously striving to improve the care for this patient group, for more information also view the 2014 Santeon outcomes book at http://www.santeon.nl/Santeon_CareForOutcome2014.pdf
Research
CWZ contributes to prostate cancer research by developing its own research lines and participating in international multicentre trials. For patients, this means that they often have access to innovative technologies or new drugs that are not yet widely available. We want to improve prostate cancer care continuously through the results of such research.
Importance for the patient
Of course educating peers is important, but it also ensures that we must be constantly aware of the latest guidelines and insights and will act accordingly. In addition, participation of visitors enables us to continuously improve our own processes. In doing so, the patient also benefits from CWZ achieving an international education status.