Whether due to disease or injury, chronic pain can have a severely negative impact on an individual’s life. Long-term pain may reduce quality of life, lead to depression, and keep one from working or spending time with family and friends. Chronic pain is also a common health problem, with an estimated 100 million Americans reporting chronic pain, nearly one-third of the population.

Back pain is one of the most frequent complaints of chronic pain sufferers. About 30 million people in the United States have chronic back pain, and it is the leading cause of disability in the US. Unfortunately, back pain is also one of the types of pain most resistant to treatment.

However, the Pain Rehabilitation Unit at Sheba Medical Center’s Rehabilitation Campus was designed to address chronic pain complaints and provide effective treatment for even reticent pain. Patients that have already undergone primary and secondary treatment for their pain yet still have pain complaints may receive many benefits from treatment at our Pain Rehabilitation Unit. This patient group represents 20 to 30 percent of all pain patients and is composed of the most difficult cases.

Our tertiary pain center is staffed with expert pain physicians, certified in multiple countries. The program begins with a thorough assessment that includes looking for signs of deconditioning as well a psychological examination. Counseling for depression and substance abuse is provided if needed. Patients also speak with a pain psychologist to evaluate for psychological components to their pain.

The entire approach is holistic and involves multiple specialties, including complementary and alternative medical specialties. Patients benefit from treatments like art therapy and yoga. The program also includes careful physical therapy, exercise therapy, and gentle hydrotherapy in pools. Some patients will also be candidates for nerve root injections performed under fluoroscopic guidance, which can help relieve pain in many areas but especially the back and legs.

Sheba’s Pain Rehabilitation Center is often the last possibility for a patient to avoid major disability or invasive surgery. Our multimodal and integrative approach to treating chronic pain is a personalized program and one way in which we provide world-class medicine with a personal touch.

CLL is type of blood cancer, similar in many ways to acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). However, there are some important differences. First, CLL is rarer than ALL, with about 200,000 cases in the United States every year. Also, CLL progresses more slowly than ALL. It may take several years before symptoms even become apparent. Furthermore, CLL is rare in children and is most common in adults over the age of 40.

In women, the cervix is the lower part of the uterus, or womb. The upper area of the cervix is known as the endocervix and contains glandular cells, while the lower area, called the exocervix, is covered in squamous cells. These regions abut each other in the transformation zone, a location where many cervical cancers originate.

About 90% of all cervical cancers are squamous cell carcinomas originating in the exocervix. A minority of cervical cancers are adenocarcinomas that form in the endocervix. Other cases of cervical cancer are a mixture of these types, known as mixed carcinomas or adenosquamous carcinomas.

Although cancer can certainly be insidious, constant research and education has provided a great deal of knowledge regarding prevention, symptoms, and risk factors. Some of this information is presented below:

Breast cancer is the most frequently occurring cancer among women in the United States. As with many types of cancer, early detection of breast cancer is crucial to a favorable treatment outcome. That is one reason why we at Sheba Medical Cancer Center use state of the art imaging and other diagnostic techniques to find and classify breast cancer before it can spread. We make the latest in mammography tools available to our patients as part of our breast cancer treatments.

The most common type of breast cancer is ductal carcinoma, which begins in the milk ducts. Lobular carcinomas, which start in the gland tissue, are the second most frequently seen. Although many breast cancers are first discovered as a lump in the breast, not all breast lumps are cancerous. Both frequent self-examination and regular mammograms are vital to the early discovery of breast lumps.

At Sheba Medical Cancer Center, we understand that a diagnosis of breast cancer can be devastating for both our patients and their families. We are dedicated to comprehensive, holistic care for our patients and their families so that they have the support they need during this difficult time. Our multidisciplinary team provides excellent physical, social, and psychological care in our quest to give world class medicine with a personal touch.

Cancer of the lungs is extremely prevalent in both Israel and the United States. In fact, lung cancer is the type of cancer most likely to lead to death in men, and the third most likely type in women. Lung cancer is responsible for about 30% of all cancer deaths among Americans.

Lung cancer is classified into two major types based on pathological examination, small cell, and non-small cell. Non-small cell lung cancer is more common by far, making up around 85 to 90% of all cases. Small cell lung cancer represents only about 10-15% of lung cancer diagnoses. At Sheba, we offer cutting-edge lung cancer treatment options.

The liver is a vital organ responsible for eliminating toxic substances and filtering the blood in conjunction with the kidneys. It also serves additional roles as a means of sugar storage and producer of digestive enzymes. The liver may be the primary source of cancer, known as hepatocellular carcinoma or primary liver cancer, but it is also a frequent target of cancer metastasis originating in other organs. This is called secondary liver cancer or liver metastasis. At Sheba, we offer several advanced liver cancer treatment options.