Getting treated in Turkey

[shirleyanntr]

İ never cease to be amazed at the really great treatment available in Turkey.
İve worked most of my life in the NHS in the Uk in various jobs so have wide experience of how things are there. plus im fortunate enough to have ex patients of mine that still keep in touch and let me know how they are.
Yet the best and most successful outcomes i have seen for serious illnesses have been in Turkey
Here are just a few instances...a few years ago a woman i know was diagnosed with stomach cancer..this is a really awful aggressive cancer and the woman was 67, she was diagnosed in Alanya and referred to a specialist in Malatya whose field was this type of cancer..she had anticancer therapy and was really rough for over a year but has been clear for 5 years and looks well.
Our landlord was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer early this year he is in his 30's with 4 young kids. He went to Ankara for surgery and chemo etc and was there for months when he came home in July he looked really dreadful but now hes put on some weight has energy, looks well and so far his doctors have said he is in remission.
Yusufs father is on regular dialysis for over a year now, at first he refused the treatment but now is fine with it he even came here in the summer and had dialysis in Alanya then went to Marmaris to see another son and was dialysed there then he broke his leg in October and i wondered if this would would bring him down..he had a platinum plate to bind the fracture had to be carted around for a few weeks but is once again managing. added to this he had eye surgery in İzmir a few years ago and the lens at first failed he had an assortment of treatments for his eyes and his vision has been saved.
So on the whole i feel people can have confidence with medical or surgical care in Turkey
What do you think ?

 

[rosewall1]

We too have found that the medical treatment in Turkey is fantastic. My husband is type 2 diabetic and his doctors in England sent for him to have a check up and as we were going back to the uk we decided to follow it up. They upped his pills and wanted him to go to the hospital for tests but of course we were on the way back by then so went to Bodrum ozel Hastinasi found a top rate diabetic specialist and was checked out. Seems the dosage that the English doctors had given him was totally wrong and well over the recommended dosage. He was checked and sorted out no problem.
I had a bit of a breast scare, 6pm sunday night, phoned the doctor, went straight to the hospital and by 7pm was well relived that all was ok.
One of the things I love here is that you do not have to wait for ever for an appointment and treatment.
Well done Turkey

 

[suzyq]

That was a very good post Shirley. When I first came here I wasn't very well and went to see the Doctor, he asked me what was the matter and I said I don't know I just don't feel right. Within 30 minutes I had a my blood pressure taken, a complete physical examination and a chest Xray, then he scanned all my vital organs, so my husband and his aunt now know me inside and out now as they watched the whole thing on the screen, and also bloods taken all for 90 TL. It transpired I had high blood pressure and high cholestrol.

I have to say I was very impressed and was never treated that well or as fast in the UK.

 

[babsgood]

When Mark got a lump on his neck earlier this year we went to the local clinic, they phoned a surgeon to come from Bodrum to examine him, we then followed that doctor back to the develt hospital in Bodrum where he was given an ultrasound and a blood test, the following day colonsocopy and endoscopy 2 days later xray, CT scan and biopsy.

His cancer was diagnosed very quickly and we were then referred to Izmir and the oncologist there was really good, the only reason he advised Mark to go back to the UK for treatment was because the cost here was very high and we do not have insurance

 

[LyndaW]

İ think the hospitals are great here. İ have to have check ups every year after being ill 3 years ago which consısts of bloods and full body ultra sound. İ just go in have the bloods done first followed by the ultra sound with no waiting and i get the results straıght away.

Also 3 years ago i had a bıopsy done in Turkey, then flew back to England. The doctor emailed the results to me ın England to be shown to my GP.

So no complaınts from me.

Lynda x

 

[juco]

Please can all you women nag the face of your partners to go and get the checks done for prostate cancer.

Babsgood....

where he was given an ultrasound and a blood test, the following day colonsocopy and endoscopy 2 days later xray, CT scan and biopsy.

I was lucky and got an issue caught in time. Link below.

http://www.turkishliving.com/forums/health-matters/29674-prostate-cancer-over-50s-3.html

 

[SuperBogs]

The WHO has set the rankings of medical treatment by country. I myself have found if your able to deal with a upscale private hospital you can get decent treatment. The better doctors go private, so what are you left with?

The World Health Organization's ranking of the world's health systems

Bob

 

[alison09400]

The WHO has set the rankings of medical treatment by country. I myself have found if your able to deal with a upscale private hospital you can get decent treatment. The better doctors go private, so what are you left with?

The World Health Organization's ranking of the world's health systems

Bob

According to the link that list was last compiled in 2000.....9 years ago.
I've had treatment in both private and state hospitals here and other than comforts and nice surroundings at the private, I don't see much difference in treatment I was given.
I was also diagnosed this year with high BP and high cholesterol and couldn't fault any of the staff that treated me at Kusadasi's devlet hospital.

 

[Terry the Celt]

Quote

Our landlord was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer early this year he is in his 30's with 4 young kids. He went to Ankara for surgery and chemo etc and was there for months when he came home in July he looked really dreadful but now hes put on some weight has energy, looks well and so far his doctors have said he is in remission.


Thats brilliant Shirl because my cousin who was only 45 got pancreatic cancer and her doctor said the survival rate is less than 5%. She was dead within 9 months and its one of the worst cancers to get.
That shows how good Turkish medical treatment is really.

ALSO Lads
PSA blood test for Prostate Cancer at least every 2 years for us over 50 and annually over 65.
My GP was happy to arrange it but if you dont ask you wont get!!
One of the biggest cancers in us macho lot!!

 

[Sunny Seasider]

These posts are very encouraging and to know that treatment is so quick is excellent. I'm afraid that is not always the case here in the UK, pity as we have such good surgeons and hospitals, but same old story, it is the costs involved. For me health should not have to be determined on cost, those of us who have either been the victim of Cancers or families dealing with them know that time is of the essence.

 

[Yildez Datca]

My personal experience of health care in Turkey is that it is excellent. I had a heart attack here in 2007, was resusitated at out tiny local hospital and then transferred to Ahu Hetman in Marmaris. The medical care was second to none and everything I was told by the doctors was confirmed when I returned to the UK, although the medication levels were reduced.

I didn't have health insurance so we had to pay for my treatment but compared to the cost of private health care in the UK it was a bargain! And a cheap price to pay for my life which was saved by a young A&E doctor here in Datca.

 

[pineapple1]

I've been treated at 3 hospitals in Turkey Lara hospital in Antalya Baskent Uni Hospital in Alanya And a little hospital in Bodrum all of them excellent . The bodrum one insisted they do a scan as a pracaution .. I had a realy bad kidney infection the scan blood test water test specialist in total cost £47 . My gp won't give me Septrin and its the only antibiotic that works . So now i buy it in Turkey and bring it home with me . Could it be that the pills my gp gives me are much cheaper than septrin ???? The treatment in Turkey is 1st class and i swear thier hospitals are cleaner than ours .....Diane

 

[hijo]

..i agree pineapple 1..the hospitals are by far much more cleaner in turkey..i think the problem in the uk is contract cleaners ..get our matrons back, they will sort it out..not being funny but people just walk into the hospitals in the uk ..probably with dog or cat crap on their feet..no wonders theres so many infecftions in their hospitals ..in turkey its all plastic galloshes ..over the hospitals ,dentists and doctors..give me turkey anytime..:37:

 

[pineapple1]

Yes Hijo i know its true . My dear mum was rushed into hospital in Marmaris with food poiening she was in intensive care .. Befor the holiday we saw her specialist in UK has mum had breast cancer for 7 years .. He said it was fine for mum to fly and the cancer was smaller with the tomoxifen pills . However when she was xrayed in Marmaris the doctor asked why mum had been allowed to travel !! He found the cancer had spread to her lungs etc . she was very weak after such a bad case of poisening . While in the hospital i had to wear gowns slip on shoes a mask etc . Back in uk I confronted her specalist who said he'd no idea the cancer had spread !!! My mum died 6wks later .
So much for the regular check ups in the uk .......Diane

 

[lesley northall]

I agree with all the above, have been in Turgetries clinic ov ernight twice and the treatment both times was excellent.
I must admit though that any treatment received in this country has always been good too and fortunately no real bad illnesses.
Our son had a bone graft on his hand in nhs hospital which didn't take so it was redone in a private hospital and so far so good. It was his first time in private hospital and he couldn't believe the difference .
We are lucky at the moment that we have private medical through hubby's job and an excellent travel insurance.
Wishing all of you out there who are ill a speedy receovery wherever you are

 

[dalyansteve]

I think in the Mugla region, the Ahu Hetman in Marmaris is just about the best. I have had an English fitted cataract implant with 2 years of problems sorted out in 10 minutes, I also had another implant and last year had major spine surgury all at the Ahu Hetman. We have tried all the other local hospitals, also in Bodrum and Kusadasi, and still find this hospital the best. Our only problem is that it takes at least an hour to get to any of these hospitals so in a dire emergency we would have to be stabilised locally by the local hospital or doctors and I am sure they would do their best.

 

[irishsteve]

very interesting posts and great to know just how good the medical system is in Turkey.Can anyone give me a ball park figure on how much insurance is?

 

[juco]

It would be useful to get a fix on some of the treatments that members have had, eg what was done, how long in hospital and what it cost.
I ask because fairly simple stuff appears to have a low cost but then you read in voices about the womens family that were being billed for £100k.

It may help some members plan their budgeting in turkey if costs were known.

 

[dalyansteve]

Asking how much private insurance is like asking how long is a piece of string! It all depends on your age and which scheme you go for and what you have wrong with you. As an indication I have found it cheaper than paying NI in the UK. We pay around 3,000 lira a year for Anodolu paket 1 but then I am under 60 my wife is just over and we have had insurance for about 8 years.
As for prices a cataract was about the equivalent of £500 some years ago and the spine operation with a week in hospital was about £5,000 and that included the special material that was implanted to fuse the spine instead of using titanium plates and screws.
If you go to your local hospital and ask them which company they recomend and then get some quotes, other friends of ours use Acibadem sigorta which is good but not much help if your local hospital does not have an agreement with them.
To start private insurance it does help if you are under 60 and in reasonably good health, if you are over 65 you will find it very difficult to get cover.

 

[alison09400]

A had my appendix out in October 2004 at Kusadasi Private Hospital....for all scans, treatment, operation and an overnight stay the cost was 2,000TL (£800).

I had my daughter by Caesarian Section at the private Ozel Gazi hospital in Izmir in October 2005....cost for everything incl an overnight stay in hospital was 2,000TL.

In May of this year I went to the A&E at the Devlet in Kusadasi with pains in my chest. For an ECG, 2 injections & 2 tablets it was 37TL.