July 2005

Hospital equipped for new techniques

William Buckland Radiation Therapy Centre patient Miranda Manifold received a visit from Health Minister Bronwyn Pike while receiving groundbreaking brain cancer treatment.

Mrs Manifold has a tumour in the base of her skull, near her optic nerve and other key areas of the brain.

She was flown from Queensland for treatment.

Using an Australian-first technique, doctors aimed to destroy the tumour without damaging any of these key areas.

Ms Pike was at the Centre to launch a $6.8 million State upgrade of the Alfred Hospital’s radiation therapy services.

She said the upgrade meant the Centre now had the latest equipment available for cutting-edge radiotherapy, including breakthrough treatment giving hope to people with inoperable tumours.

The cancer service upgrades include two new $2.3 million linear accelerators, a new $1 million CT simulator, $800,000 for a new planning system and $400,000 for building expansions including a new radiotherapy underground bunker, a quiet room for patients, space for planning patients’ treatment and new offices.

‘Thanks to the upgrades, doctors are now able to use an Australian-first radiosurgery technique that enables them to treat hard-to-reach tumours in the brain and skull base,’ Ms Pike said.

‘This technique, called dynamic arc stereotactic radiotherapy or radiosurgery, precisely targets treatment by adapting the shape of the radiation beam to the shape of the patient’s tumour.

‘In this technique, the linear accelerator machine moves around the patient while delivering a very high dose of radiation to a small target area in the brain.

‘At the same time, small shields move to protect the rest of the brain from radiation.

‘This means radiosurgery can be delivered to irregularly shaped tumours with pinpoint accuracy and is a big breakthrough for patients with inoperable tumours,’ Ms Pike said.

The first patient was treated using this technique last month.

The number of patients treated in the William Buckland Radiotherapy Centre has risen steadily since the centre was established in 1992 with referrals increasing by 23 per cent in the past five years.