ITRealms:
More cancer treatment will be available in Africa before the end of this
year, 2015, says Elekta, reports
ITRealms.
The privately owned Namibian Oncology Centre,
ITRealms learnt is set to open
in Windhoek later this year.
Built and equipped with funding from Spitz Healthcare Investments, the
centre will have chemotherapy, laboratory, pharmacy and in-patient facilities
as well as the first digital linear accelerator radiation treatment in Namibia.
The centre’s radiation unit, with the capacity to treat up to 50 patients a
day, will bring to Namibia highly specialised treatment never before available
in the country. The only other radiation treatment available in Namibia is at
the state hospital in Windhoek, which uses an older, cobalt radiation unit. The
new linear accelerator offers a wider scope of treatment protocols utilizing
multiple energies capable of addressing a large variety of cancers.
A team of specialists, including oncologists, radiation therapists, nurses
and support staff, is now in place to man the new centre. One of the team’s
oncologists, Dr. Elré van Heerden, notes that the benefits of the new unit will
extend to patients beyond Namibia’s borders, as a number of private patients
from Angola are also expected to seek treatment at the facility.
Martin Noordman,service partner manager for Sub-Saharan Africa at Elekta
South Africa, says the Digital Linear Accelerator offers a wider scope of treatment
protocols offering multiple energies capable of addressing a large variety of
cancers. He explains that the Elekta Synergy Platform with a sophisticated
ultra-conformal field shaping with a fully integrated multileaf collimator
allows for highly targeted radiation.Higher energies are important in the case
of deep tumours or large patients. Elekta Digital Linear Accelerators allow
health practitioners to limit the radiation exposure of normal tissue and so
limit the side effects of treatment.
Dr. van Heerden believes this is a key benefit of the new Elekta linear
accelerator and advanced treatment planning capability. “This equipment allows
for highly targeted radiation treatment with limited damage to healthy tissue.
This is crucial in curative treatment in particular, because with the ability
to cure more patients, we need to ensure the treatment has as little long term
impact on healthy tissue as possible.”
Noordman says the arrival of Elekta’s highly advanced linear accelerator in
Namibia could ease the burden on the state’s oncology facility through a
possible public-private partnership in future, as well as delivering a number
of benefits to private patients who previously might have had to travel to
major centres in South Africa for specialised treatment.
“Typical cancer
treatments would entail daily treatments for six weeks. Thus traveling
thousands of kilometres to another country for treatment entails significant
cost and disruption for patients, but crucially – it also separates them from their
emotional support base at home at a time when they need it the most.” Dr. van
Heerden adds that many patients being treated for symptoms may also be too sick
to travel long distances for treatment.
APO
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