GenesisCare’s MR-Linac: first NSW patient to undergo new cancer radiation therapy
A former principal, from Ryde, with prostate cancer has been the first patient in NSW to be treated with a new state-of-the art form of cancer radiation therapy.
Northern District Times
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A former principal with prostate cancer has been the first patient in NSW to be treated with a new form of cancer radiation therapy seen to be a game changer in treating the deadly disease.
Rod Brooks, 68, from North Ryde said he was heartbroken when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer in May - after first having bowel cancer in 2007.
“I had a biopsy and it was found it (the cancer) was fairly serious and required surgery which would have meant taking the prostate out of the body,” he told The Northern District Times.
After first being told his only option was surgery, he got a second opinion from another specialist who told him of a new cancer treatment option which he’d be eligible for named MR-Linac.
Yet Mr Brooks, who is the former headmaster of Heathcote High School and East Hills Boys High School, was told it had never been done before in the state and he would be the first one to trial it.
It didn’t take long for him to say yes after recalling the difficult side effects of bowel surgery.
“I’ve had bowel cancer and what happened after major surgery and didn’t want to have that sort of experience again,” he said.
“That’s not to say surgery isn’t the best way for some people, yet for me radiation was a better option.”
The special technology combines radiation therapy with an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scanner that allows clinicians to see the cancerous tumour at real-time, giving them more accuracy during treatment.
Dr Jeremy de Leon told The Times the MRI Linac was a “major advancement” in radiotherapy treatment.
“It enables truly adaptive patient care as it allows us to see both the tumour and healthy tissue during treatment and account for the movement of tumours and organs.
“This can mean more precise targeting of cancer cells and minimise radiation to surrounding normal organs, which may result in reduced side effects as well as treatment delivered over shorter time frames.”
Unlike alternative cancer therapy options which require dozens of sessions, it involves just five.
The father-of-two had his first session on July 10 and estimated he was in the machine (Elekta Unity MR-Linac) for just longer than an hour.
“It was really cool while I was in the machine I could listen to music of my choice and lie there and I just thought how cool this is,” Mr Brooks said.
After the sessions he said there were no serious side effects, only a bit of fatigue.
When asked whether he had any reservations about being the first patient in the state to undergo the treatment, he said “not at all.”
“It seemed in some small way I could contribute to men’s health and I thought being the very first one may encourage others,” he said.
Mr Brooks, who is a keen sailor and golfer, underwent his final radiation session in the GenesisCare centre at St Vincent’s Hospital this Wednesday.
He will now wait six weeks for his next consultation to see if the treatment was successful.
The centre at St Vincent’s Hospital is the first hospital in NSW and the second in Australia to offer this innovative treatment for those with prostate and oligometastatic cancers.
And Dr de Leon hopes that this same technology will help treat a number of cancers in the future.
“This technology will enhance our ability to treat cancers that move during or between treatment sessions that are close to normal healthy organs.,” he said.
“These may include the liver, pancreas, bladder, kidney, sarcoma, lung and breast.”
Prostate cancer is Australia’s most commonly diagnosed men’s cancer with almost 20,000 men diagnosed with the disease last year.
It is also the third most common cause of death from cancer in Australia after lung and colorectal cancer.