"The time factor is particularly important" Gottschalk's doctor now talks about the shock diagnosis of cancer
"Wetten, dass ..." legend Thomas Gottschalk said in an interview at the weekend: "I think it's time we put our cards on the table. I have cancer." He has already undergone two operations.
Image: sda
At Gottschalk's side is his wife Karina Mross. For the time being, the couple managed to keep the illness a secret. The 75-year-old was diagnosed almost four months ago (archive photo).
Image: Felix Hörhager/dpa
Despite his diagnosis and the operations, he continued to make public appearances. At the Bambi Gala two weeks ago, Gottschalk irritated the audience with an erratic performance: he mistook Cher for a double and received boos. Gottschalk now explains that he has to take strong painkillers because of his illness (archive photo).
Image: Armin Weigel/dpa
"Wetten, dass ..." legend Thomas Gottschalk said in an interview at the weekend: "I think it's time we put our cards on the table. I have cancer." He has already undergone two operations.
Image: sda
At Gottschalk's side is his wife Karina Mross. For the time being, the couple managed to keep the illness a secret. The 75-year-old was diagnosed almost four months ago (archive photo).
Image: Felix Hörhager/dpa
Despite his diagnosis and the operations, he continued to make public appearances. At the Bambi Gala two weeks ago, Gottschalk irritated the audience with an erratic performance: he mistook Cher for a double and received boos. Gottschalk now explains that he has to take strong painkillers because of his illness (archive photo).
Image: Armin Weigel/dpa
Two operations, 33 radiotherapy sessions, high risk of relapse - Thomas Gottschalk's battle against cancer is ongoing. His doctor now gives an insight into the course of treatment for the first time.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- Thomas Gottschalk suffers from a rare, aggressive blood vessel cancer called epithelioid angiosarcoma and has already undergone two operations and 33 radiotherapy sessions.
- His attending physician emphasizes that time is of the essence with this type of cancer in order to completely remove the tumour and prevent recurrences.
- Thanks to modern treatment methods, the prognosis has improved, but close follow-up checks are still necessary due to the high risk of recurrence.
"I think it's time we put our cards on the table. I have cancer", with these words the legendary entertainer Thomas Gottschalk shocked the show world this weekend.
A courageous move by the 75-year-old.
And the evil has a complicated name: epithelioid angiosarcoma. It is a rare, malignant tumor of the blood vessels. Gottschalk received the diagnosis almost four months ago. He has already undergone two operations.
Now Gottschalk's attending physician has made a statement. This is known - and not yet.
What is an epithelioid angiosarcoma?
Angiosarcoma is a very rare form of cancer that develops in the cells that form the inside of blood vessels. This term covers various malignant vascular tumors that can occur in different areas of the body, explains the German Sarcoma Foundation. The tumors form on the inside of blood and lymph vessels and can spread from there throughout the body by forming metastases.
How often does it occur?
In Switzerland, there are no publicly available figures on how often epithelioid angiosarcoma occurs because it is not reported separately in the national cancer statistics.
The official cancer reports of the FSO and the NKRS only list more common types of cancer, while rare sarcomas are summarized under "other types of cancer". As epithelioid angiosarcoma is extremely rare, it usually only appears statistically in individual case reports. International specialist literature also describes the subtype as "exceptionally rare".
What was done in Gottschalk's case?
The 75-year-old had to undergo two major operations, the second of which involved removing large areas of soft tissue from his pelvis, as his cancer is particularly aggressive. Despite the strain, he and his wife kept the illness a secret. Karina Mross told us at the weekend that Thomas didn't allow himself a break and they drove to the clinic in secret every day. He received a total of 33 radiotherapy treatments. It was a very stressful time for the couple.
What happens next?
He knows Thomas Gottschalk's illness inside out - and offers hope: for the first time, his attending physician has spoken about the situation in an interview. Professor Jürgen E. Gschwend explains in an interview with the "tz" newspaper how this type of cancer is treated.
Gschwend has already operated on thousands of patients and is one of the leading experts in bladder and prostate surgery. As Head of Urology at the TUM Rechts der Isar Hospital, he also deals with extremely rare tumor types such as epithelioid angiosarcoma, which Gottschalk was diagnosed with.
Professor Jürgen E. Gschwend on this disease: "It is very rare, originates from the blood vessels and is aggressive. Theoretically, it can occur anywhere in the body. If it is discovered, it must be fought with determination. The time factor is particularly important with this type of cancer."
For patients, the diagnosis means one thing above all: they must be operated on quickly. The tumor must be completely removed so that no cancer cells remain. In some cases, additional operations are therefore necessary to ensure that all of the affected tissue has been removed.
Surgery is usually followed by adjuvant radiotherapy, i.e. supportive treatment after the main procedure, which is intended to destroy the remaining cancer cells and increase the chances of keeping the tumor under control in the long term.
Nevertheless, the risk of recurrence remains high with this type of cancer. This is why close monitoring is important: patients usually have to be examined every eight to twelve weeks in order to detect a possible recurrence - i.e. the reappearance of the tumor - at an early stage.
What is the prognosis?
Professor Jürgen E. Gschwend says: "Thanks to the combination of modern surgical techniques, radiotherapy and medication, the prognosis has improved significantly in recent years."
