Cancer Patients in Western Australia to benefit from Varian's
state-of-the-art radiotherapy treatment
28 August 2006 Perth, Western Australia. Cancer patients in Western
Australia will receive state-of-the-art radiotherapy treatments using
equipment from Varian Medical Systems with the opening of a new cancer
centre in Perth. Stereotactic radiosurgery for pancreatic cancer patients
and an advanced program of IMRT (intensity modulated radiotherapy) are among
the new treatments being introduced at the new Sir Charles Gairdner Centre.
The new facility, the only public radiotherapy department in Western
Australia, serving 2.1 million people in an area the size of Europe, has
been equipped with two Varian Clinac iX linear accelerators and a Trilogy
machine. The new radiotherapy department is the first phase of a new
multi-disciplinary cancer centre close to the original hospital, which was
established in 1961.
Two of the new accelerators will add extra capacity for additional patients
while the third will replace one of their existing three treatment machines,
giving them five in total. She said that
The new devices will enable the hospital to increase the treatment options
for patients, with intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) and image-guided
radiotherapy (IGRT) programs planned for later this year, as well as an
escalation of the existing stereotactic program to encompass pancreatic
cancers. The investment has come in response to the Baume Report of 2002
which highlighted the desperate need for additional treatment capacity in
Western Australia. “Our Varian machines were doing ten-hour days up to
about eight months ago but waiting lists were growing and some patients were
waiting up to seven months for treatment,” said Rhonda Coleman, head of
radiation therapy. “We stepped that up to 13-hour days and brought waiting
times down to three months. With this new equipment, we hope to have
eliminated waiting lists by Christmas. “We selected Varian for this
project for reasons of reliability, connectivity and support. We need full
connectivity throughout the network, particularly as we have doctors going
to outreach clinics who need to be able to get hold of data. Also,
reliability is crucial and Varian machines just keep on working for a long
time. “We’re a busy centre and this new state-of-the-art equipment will
enable us to offer our patients the most modern and efficient radiotherapy
treatments without increasing the amount of time it takes to treat people,”
she added. To top
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