The new technology helping ‘incurable’ cancer patients
A cutting-edge type of radiation is helping to heal cancer patients who were previously thought to be incurable.
Doctors want more patients to consider the treatment, which they say is less toxic than chemotherapy.
For Ross Free, who was diagnosed with prostate cancer, the treatment has been a blessing.
“The urologist sat me down in his office and said, ‘if nothing is done, you’ll be dead in five years’.”
While the initial cancer was removed, a new tumour was found in his back just a few years later.
Doctors chose to use an advanced form of radiation that’s now been proven to extend a patient’s life.
“It meant for me an additional 15 to 18 months of life, which is something that’s pretty important when you have a partner and a family,” Mr Free said.
“This is a very new finding,” Associate Professor Gerry Hanna from Peter Mac Cancer Foundation said.
“We can actually cure disease that we previously thought we couldn’t cure.”
The therapy, known as SABR, works by targeting tumours with very high doses of radiation.
The treatments are delivered with millimetre accuracy to avoid healthy surrounding tissue.
The cutting-edge technology can double the time patients live without cancer growth.
“This is a game-changer – this is going to change how we treat advanced cancer,” A/Prof Hanna said.
The therapy is so precise that patients only need to come in for a couple of sessions, and unlike other treatments, they can go home straight away.
“We think this will not only improve the survival of patients with cancer, but make their quality of life much better,” A/Prof Hanna said.
