Anastasia Zavorotnyuk, seriously ill, spent five months in an oncology clinic.
Photo: Larisa KUDRYAVTSEVA/EG
Since September last year, seriously ill Anastasia Zavorotnyuk has been in a private Moscow clinic, where the “beautiful nanny” was saved from the consequences of glioblastoma of the brain – this is the most aggressive form of the tumor. The doctors provided the famous patient with comfortable conditions and round-the-clock care: here not only Russian, but also foreign specialists, including professors and doctors of sciences from Israel, treated the case of the actress.
And besides, the hospital has developed and patented its own method of treatment of malignant brain tumors, which allows to increase the life expectancy of patients with glioblastoma by more than two (!) times. Perhaps it is thanks to this that Anastasia Zavorotnyuk has not lost hope of recovery for four years. The artist was diagnosed with the disease in the spring of 2019, and then the doctors did not give optimistic forecasts: only 2% of patients with this diagnosis manage to live to five years.
Meanwhile, Anastasia Zavorotnyuk’s next therapy has ended: according to KP.RU, the patient recently left the hospital.
– She’s been discharged. Zavorotnyuk was brought home by her husband Pyotr Chernyshev, our source said.
The attending doctors do not reveal the details of the actress’s condition, however, according to experts, the very fact that the “beautiful nanny” has been fighting for her life for four years inspires optimism.
– The average life expectancy in adult patients with glioblastoma is short: four out of five patients die in the first 1.5 – 2 years from the date of diagnosis, – says oncologist, doctor of medical sciences Igor Dolgopolov. – One of the most important questions for these patients is where exactly the tumor is located, if it is possible to remove it completely. Often this is difficult, because there is a risk of negative consequences, at least disability. Four years of life is a very good result. Although such patients can be completely cured if the tumor can be removed and radiation therapy is successfully administered to destroy the microscopic debris.
In 2019, when the actress’s tumor was first discovered, doctors outlined a certain treatment regimen: first surgery, then radiation therapy, and then several cycles of chemotherapy. It turns out that nothing has changed today.
– The world standard remains the same: such a sequence gives the best result, – continues the oncologist. – Of course, experimental approaches are being developed in parallel, for example, various immunotherapies. But there are still no clinical studies to base it on. In my experience, if a person has lived for four years, doctors use more than standard therapies. What’s the story with glioblastoma? There is no official second-line therapy for this disease. This means that if a patient has undergone surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, but relapses, there is no standard treatment regimen. Then the art begins.
How Anastasia Zavorotnyuk may feel after four years of fighting glioblastoma is an open question.
– If the tumor occupied half of the brain, then, of course, the person was initially incapacitated. And if the glioblastoma was small and it was successfully removed, then the person leads a normal life. And his disease is not noticeable more than in a patient, for example, with arthritis or after a stroke, the doctor notes. – In general, the quality of life of patients with tumors of the central nervous system, of course, is reduced, but many can take care of themselves.
In addition to treatment, rehabilitation is also important – it often works real miracles. And it is possible that for five months in a private clinic, Zavorotnyuk’s doctors did just that.
– Rehabilitation is a fresh concept in our country. We are talking not only about motor, but also about cognitive activity: they restore speech, the ability to read, write, social and psychological adaptation. Even virtual reality is used: for example, in special glasses a person “shoots” with his eyes at some objects to develop coordination of movements. These are completely complex programs – a completely different world that can bring the patient back to life, Igor Dolgopolov is sure.
