St John of God Murdoch Hospital to debut WA-first cancer treatment

Cancer patients will soon have access to cutting-edge radiation therapy at St John of God Murdoch Hospital, with doctors hopeful the technology will save people like Karen Burney from being forced to travel interstate for treatment. The hospital’s new integrated cancer centre, due to open at the end of the year, will house WA’s first Elekta Unity MR-Linac machine. The cutting-edge technology will allow radiation oncologists to visualise cancerous tissue during treatment and combine MRI diagnostics with targeted radiation therapy. The combination enables ‘crystal clear’ differentiation of soft tissues during treatment and allows for real time adjustment to account for movement in the tumour and any surrounding healthy tissue. Ms Burney, who is now celebrating being cancer-free after being given an all-clear from doctors, had to travel to Sydney earlier this year for the MR-Linac treatment. She had been diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer in 2018 and despite undergoing chemotherapy, radiation therapy and surgical treatments, had to first travel to Sydney in 2019 for a major operation. When cancer spread to her sciatic nerve, she had no choice but to return to Sydney in February for the specialist treatment. “I think it is fantastic for West Australians to have access to the technology,” she said. “I am excited about the prospect of other people being able to have the treatment at home, where they have their family and friends around them. “I’m delighted to hear this treatment option is being made locally available for West Australians, so travel doesn’t become a barrier to receiving this high-tech cancer care. “Fingers crossed, I will not need to have further treatment or appointments.” She said it was important for patients to have access to different treatment options that would potentially shorten their treatment or recovery time. “I would like to thank my team in Sydney and wish Dr Hendrick Tan and the team at Murdoch all the best with this new technology,” she said. “To West Australians, if MR-Linac becomes an option for your treatment, I encourage you to consider it.” St John of God Murdoch’s cancer centre is a partnership with Centuria Healthcare and radiation oncology services provider GenesisCare. The new facility’s medical director Dr Tee Lim said the to-be-installed technology represented a “new era for adaptive radiation therapy” in WA. “Many tumours are located in organs that move during or between radiation treatment sessions,” Dr Lim said. “The Elekta Unity-MR Linac system allows us to visualise cancerous tissue during treatment in real time, adapting the plans and margins to minimise exposure to surrounding healthy tissue and limit side effects. “This new treatment technology is a game-changer for West Australian cancer patients.” In addition to the MR-Linac technology, the cancer centre will offer nuclear medicine services and will house the latest molecular imaging equipment, including a PET-CT scanner. It will have the capacity to treat up to 1000 cancer patients a year.