Patients in Melbourne’s west can access “tattoo-less” radiotherapy, and more complex cases can be treated closer to home, thanks to major upgrades at the Sunshine Hospital Radiation Therapy Centre.
The centre is operated by Peter Mac in collaboration with Western Health – with an agreement now signed to extend the partnership to 2031.
The latest body-tracking technology has been installed, with the first patient being treated with the new AlignRT system this month, while two upgraded treatment machines mean more complex cases are no longer diverted to Peter Mac’s main centre in the CBD.
Peter Mac chief executive, Professor Shelley Dolan, said the extended partnership will ensure patients living in Melbourne’s west have access to publicly funded and research-led radiotherapy services close to home.
Western Health chief executive, Adjunct Professor Russell Harrison, said: “We know that receiving treatment for cancer can be a very stressful time for patients. So being able to provide radiotherapy close to home has been a real benefit for our patients”.
The Sunshine Hospital Radiation Therapy Centre delivers radiotherapy courses to more than 800 patients every year. It is staffed by Peter Mac and Western Health employees and includes highly skilled radiation oncologists, radiation therapists, medical physicists, radiation engineers, specialist cancer nurses, allied health and administration staff. Medical oncology and palliative care doctors are also onsite.
Two newly installed Varian TrueBeam radiation therapy machines have enabled the centre to perform stereotactic radiosurgery – a highly precise form of radiotherapy used to treat tumours in the brain, neck, lungs, liver, spine and other parts of the body.
The new AlignRT technology tracks body position in real time to correctly position patients for treatment, doing away with the need for tiny, permanent “X” tattoos marked on the patient’s skin. This upgrade was made possible through the generosity of a number of donors to the Peter MacCallum Cancer Foundation.
