Providing better access and more choice for cancer care
Thursday, 01 February, 2024
Cancer patients undergoing treatment on Brisbane鈥檚 northside are set to benefit from a new, multimillion-dollar onsite radiation therapy service.
Located onsite at St Vincent鈥檚 Private 黑料吃瓜群网 Northside (at Chermside), the new service will provide a fully integrated end-to-end cancer service, eliminating the need for patients to travel away from the hospital campus for radiation therapy.
The service by St Vincent鈥檚 and Icon Cancer Centre (Icon) features an experienced team of radiation oncologists, radiation therapists, nurses and support staff. The centre will deliver care using the latest in radiation therapy technology and techniques.
St Vincent鈥檚 Private 黑料吃瓜群网 Northside CEO Oli Steele said, 鈥淚ncreasingly for cancer patients, it鈥檚 not just one modality of treatment聽鈥� like surgery, chemotherapy or radiation. It鈥檚 usually a combination of therapies.鈥�
鈥淎round 50% of all patients diagnosed with cancer require radiation oncology treatment and, to date, those needing that treatment haven鈥檛 been able to be treated here at St Vincent鈥檚 Northside.
18,000 treatments a year
Icon Group CEO Mark Middleton said his team would partner with St Vincent鈥檚 to provide the latest in radiation therapy treatment including Varian鈥檚 HyperArc 鈥� the latest treatment for advanced brain cancer, and IDENTIFY technology 鈥� Surface Guided Radiation Therapy (SGRT), tattoo-free advanced radiation therapy.
鈥淭he centre will be equipped with a Varian TrueBeam linear accelerator, the latest in radiation therapy technology with the capacity to deliver 18,000 radiation therapy treatments annually, including the latest techniques to treat a wide range of cancers for Brisbane鈥檚 inner north,鈥� Middleton said.
Patient-focused, clinical collaboration
Dr Rick Abraham, a medical oncologist at St Vincent鈥檚 Northside and with Icon, said establishing an onsite radiation facility was a vital part of providing better choice and access for patients.
鈥淢any patients going through chemotherapy are quite unwell and with those patients that also require radiation treatment it鈥檚 extremely beneficial to provide onsite, integrated cancer care,鈥� Abraham said.
鈥淲e can now offer something that鈥檚 special through this partnership with a great multidisciplinary team, great facilities and strong collaboration. I鈥檓 confident we can build a service that鈥檚 going to make a difference to patients on Brisbane鈥檚 northside.鈥�
Radiation therapy is a highly targeted, safe and effective treatment used to treat a wide range of cancers including, but not limited to, breast, prostate, skin, lung and brain cancer and is often used in combination with other treatments, like chemotherapy. Radiation therapy treatment is usually given in daily intervals over several weeks with every course unique to each patient鈥檚 condition.
Subject to regulatory approvals, the new radiation therapy service is expected to be up and running at St Vincent鈥檚 Private 黑料吃瓜群网 Northside by late 2024.
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