Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town has unveiled a new radiotherapy machine worth R36m that can treat up to 40 patients a day. Groundup quotes Professor Jeannette Parkes, head of radiation oncology at the hospital, as saying that the department currently sees more than 3,000 new oncology patients a year. “Every year this number increases by between 5% and 10%. Up to 60% of these patients will require radiotherapy as part of their treatment.”
Parkes said new imaging techniques allow health workers to visualise the tumour, but “hitting the target is no longer enough. Protecting the surrounding organs is possible.”
The report says with the new machine, the second one they have had installed in five years, the hospital now has four modern machines. “Ten years ago we had one modern machine and one dinosaur.”
[link url="https://www.groundup.org.za/article/groote-schuur-unveils-new-cancer-machine-can-treat-40-patients-day/"]Groundup report[/link]