Treatment
Patients receive their treatment through a method
referred to as "External Beam Radiation." This
is done using a Linear Accelerator - the first of its
kind in the English speaking Caribbean. The Linear
Accelerator emits high-energy radiation that destroys
cancer cells.
This machine is
significantly different from a Cobalt machine. It
produces much higher energy radiation and is more
penetrating. This results in less skin damage and a
higher percentage dose of radiation to the tumour than
Cobalt. It is advanced technology and is designed to
deliver radiotherapy treatment with the highest level of
accuracy and precision.
During the treatment
procedure, the patient is required to lie still on the
treatment couch (table). In preparation for treatment,
the radiation therapist (technologist) rotates the head
of the machine (the Linear Accelerator) to the
predetermined angle required for the proper delivery of
radiation treatment. Custom designed blocks are used to
shield and protect healthy tissues from radiation
exposure so that only the desired area is treated.
While being treated, the
patient is alone in the treatment room carefully watched
by the radiation therapist through strategically
positioned cameras. There is an intercom system which
allows the patient to freely communicate with the
therapist at all times.
Actual treatment times
are generally very short - less than or slightly greater
than one minute. The time spent in the entire treatment
process, that is, from the patients' entry into the
treatment room, until the end of treatment usually takes
between 15 - 20 minutes.
 Our professional
team is
careful in its development and scheduling of the
treatment programmes for all our patients. We discuss
with each patient the programming and planning of the
entire process prior to treatment.
Careful and constant
monitoring of our patients is an integral part of the
service offered at the Centre.
Frequency and Duration
of Treatment
Depending on the location and stage of the cancer, the
patient may be scheduled for 2-8 weeks of radiation
therapy treatment on an outpatient basis. And, because
the human body cannot handle high dosages of radiation
at once, small dosages are administered on a daily
basis. As a result it is very important that the patient
does not miss any of the treatments in order to benefit
fully from radiation therapy. Most of the therapy
sessions are scheduled from Monday through to Friday.
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