‘€œWe at Netcare Clinton Hospital are very proud to open this facility,’€ said Magriet Holder, General Manager of the Netcare Clinton Hospital at the event. ‘€œThe centre, which offers full chemotherapy and radiotherapy services, is served by some of the country’€™s leading oncologists who employ leading-edge technology. We expect the facility to become a centre for oncology treatment for the greater Alberton area.’€

According to Holder, oncologists, GPs and the management of the hospital together identified a need for an integrated oncology centre for the Alberton area as far back as 2007. She pointed out that the centre was developed as part of a project to expand Netcare Clinton Hospital’€™s facilities. The idea of the expansion project was to ensure that the hospital could better serve the community of Alberton and surrounding areas.

Tamlyn Futter, Radiotherapy Manager at Netcare Clinton Hospital, explains that the fully integrated oncology centre offers chemotherapy and radiotherapy facilities, specialising in IMRT (Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy) and IGRT (Image Guided Radiation Therapy).   Both treatment techniques are at the forefront of radiotherapy treatment worldwide, with the Netcare Clinton Oncology Centre being the first to introduce and implement IGRT in Gauteng.  

‘€œIn recent years, the demand for a fully integrated oncology centre, providing a holistic service to cancer patients living in Alberton and surrounding areas, has increased,’€ notes Futter. ‘€œBy investing in a Varian 2100CD Linear Accelerator, the centre is equipped with the latest technological capabilities that our highly trained medical staff will use for treating cancer with laser-like precision. We now have the potential to substantially improve both patient comfort and cure rates by protecting healthy tissue while delivering higher doses to the tumour.’€

‘€œIMRT can be used to treat tumours that might have been considered untreatable in the past due to the close proximity of vital organs and structures. The main advantages of IMRT are precision and speed,’€ says Futter. ‘€œIt is a highly specialised technique in radiation therapy that uses specialised equipment and computer-generated images to plan and then deliver tightly focused radiation beamlets to cancerous tumours.’€

The Varian 2100CD is equipped with a Multi Leaf Collimator (MLC) which shapes the radiation beam in accordance with the most optimised treatment plan. With this capability, Radiation Oncologists can deliver a more precise radiation dose that conforms to the tumour, while significantly reducing the amount of radiation to surrounding healthy tissue.   Consequently, this technique can increase the rate of tumour control while significantly reducing adverse side effects.

IGRT involves using a variety of digital imaging techniques to pinpoint the exact location of a targeted tumour while the patient is in the treatment position, just prior to each daily treatment.   It is one of the most advanced ‘€“ and most precise ‘€“ forms of radiation therapy currently available.

‘€œThis precision is very important because tumours are not stationary,’€ Futter says.   ‘€œThey can shift and move slightly between treatments, and even during treatments due to normal physiological processes, such as breathing.’€   IGRT also uses advanced imaging techniques to verify the patient’€™s exact position and the tumour’€™s precise location at the moment of treatment, for ultra-accurate tumour targeting.  

The treatment planning, verification and information systems are all digitally linked to the Linear Accelerator, resulting in improved quality assurance.   ‘€œWith these systems in place, the patient’€™s information and treatment parameters are transferred to the Linear Accelerator electronically, which dramatically reduces errors and ensures excellent quality,’€ Futter says. ‘€œThe result is a comprehensive electronic medical record for each patient.’€

‘€œThis state-of-the-art technology makes it possible for us to treat patients with the most advanced radiotherapy techniques, using the most clinically efficient processes available in the world,’€ Futter says.   ‘€œIt provides us with unprecedented versatility and precision for customising treatments according to the specifics of each patient’€™s case.’€  

Conveniently located in Central Alberton, Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality district, the Netcare Clinton Hospital offers a comprehensive range of services and prides itself on its multi-disciplinary approach to medicine.

Issued by           :   Martina Nicholson Associates (MNA) on behalf of Netcare Clinton Hospital

Contact                   :                     Martina Nicholson or Graeme Swinney

Telephone         :                     (011) 469 3016

Email                           :                     martina@mnapr.co.za or graeme@mnapr.co.za