A new radiation therapy treatment now available in Melbourne’s north and west means many cancer patients will spend less time at each treatment and suffer fewer side-effects than with traditional radiotherapy.
Radiation Oncology Victoria (ROV) now offers volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) treatments at its Epping specialist centre and, from this week, the treatment will also be available from its Footscray practice at Western Private Hospital.
ROV Footscray medical director Mario Guerrieri said one in every two cancer patients needed radiotherapy, and the new VMAT treatment would specifically benefit sufferers of prostate cancer.
He said significant inroads were being made in curing cancers through radiotherapy treatment without need of surgery.
But he also pointed out statistics showing that too many people in the outlying areas of Melbourne are not going for cancer diagnoses until their conditions are well advanced. He urged people to have regular check-ups.
Dr Guerrieri said ROV was one of only a few centres around the country to put VMAT radiation treatment into clinical practice. It is administered via existing linear accelerators, called Linacs, which are treatment machines that can circle the body and give radiation oncologists a better view of where cancers are located so as to target these more accurately.
He said the Linacs were manufactured in the US and cost about $2.2 million for the hardware alone. Combined with the necessary supporting infrastructure, each unit is a total investment of about $3 million.
