Gippsland cancer patients are receiving advanced accurate radiotherapy treatment not currently available in Melbourne hospitals.
The arrival of Volumetric Modulate Arc Radiotherapy to the William Buckland Radiotherapy Gippsland Centre at the Gippsland Cancer Care Centre at Latrobe Regional Hospital is a coup for the hospital’s cancer treatment services.
Operated in conjunction with Alfred Health in Melbourne, the service is one of only two public hospitals offering the advancement in radiotherapy, reducing side-effects and treatment time through more accurate radiation exposure.
Alfred Health radiation oncology director and associate professor Jeremy Millar said the treatment operated by rotating the head of the linear accelerator around the patient – giving greater freedom to target tumours from every angle.
Dr Millar said the intensity and shape of the radiation beam could also be modified to target individual tumours, sculpting the shape of the radiation area and minimising the exposure of other organs in the body.
“If you imagine the tumour like a statue, we can rotate the beam around it, change its shape and the volume that we radiate,” Dr Millar said.
“We’re treating things in a way that we haven’t been able to treat before, we’re improving cure rates and reducing side-effects.”
About 10 cancer patients have been receiving treatment at the Gippsland centre since August after almost 12 months of work seeing the equipment installed and tested.
However, the treatment itself is cutting treatment time in half, with the average treatment taking about 10 minutes.
Churchill resident and prostate cancer patient Barry Flanigan, who had been undertaking treatment every day recently, said he had not experienced any pain.
Dr Flanigan was also grateful to receive treatment locally, after supporting his wife through cancer treatment in Melbourne – living in accommodation for six weeks and travelling back home every weekend.
“The longest part of the treatment is getting the machine set up. It’s no drama at all,” Dr Flanigan said.
Gippsland Cancer Care Centre radiation oncologist Ben Hindson said from an anecdotal point of view, he could see less side-effects during treatment, especially for men with prostate cancer.
Dr Hindson said the treatment was also excellent for patients in Gippsland, who do not need to travel to get the latest technology available.
“Regional cancer therapy can offer treatment not available in Melbourne, and is the same and if not better as anywhere else,” he said.
