Cancer treatment

The blanket term ‘cancer’ covers a variety of diseases that can be grouped according to where they occur in the body or how they grow: 

• prostate cancer 
• pancreatic cancer 
• lymph gland cancer, or lymphoma 
• lung cancer 
• thyroid cancer 
• testicular cancer 
• cervical cancer 
• endometrial cancer 
• stomach cancer 
• melanoma 
• ovarian cancer 
• renal cancer 
• sarcoma 
• bowel cancer 
• breast cancer 
• bladder cancer 

The various types of cancer progress differently. Even cancer originating in the same organ can progress differently in different individuals. We will find the most suitable form of treatment or combination of treatments based on a wide range of detailed examinations. We also perform laboratory or imaging examinations to explore the spread of the cancer and how active its metabolism is. 

The treatments we use for cancer can be grouped as follows:

• surgical treatment 
• radiation therapy 
• chemotherapy 
• radionuclide therapy 
• pain management  
• palliative care and terminal care 

For more information on types of cancer and cancer treatments, visit the Cancer Hub at the Health Village.

We are the first Finnish cancer hospital to publish the average time from receiving a referral to the patient being admitted to treatment in cases of prostate cancer, breast cancer, and bowel cancer.  

The average time for access to treatment in a calendar month is published 1.5 months after the end of that calendar month. The access times are shown on the care pathways.

Noona is a mobile app through which you can communicate with the HUS Comprehensive Cancer Center during your treatment and monitoring periods. 

You can use Noona to ask your treatment team about symptoms related to your treatment and anything else that is on your mind. Communications via Noona are strictly confidential. Only the nurses actually involved in your treatment have access to your information. Nurses can also send you care instructions or other current information. 

Symptom surveys sent through Noona during treatments keep our medical staff up to date and help them give you the best possible care. Symptom surveys can sometimes replace appointments with a nurse or a physician. 

We will respond within 1 to 2 days. If you need to speak to our nursing staff urgently, please call us. 

You can also keep a journal in Noona that is only seen by you. If you report a serious symptom, Noona can send you care instructions automatically. 

Noona is used at the Comprehensive Cancer Center:

• with breast cancer patients throughout the entire care pathway from surgery to follow-up monitoring, 
• with patients with urologic cancers, 
• with bowel cancer patients, 
• with melanoma patients, 
• with lymphoma patients, 
• with patients receiving immunotherapy, and 
• with Clinical Trial Unit patients.