James Cook TomoTherapy officially opened
Sitting on the machine are clinical director of radiotherapy and oncology Dr Peter Dunlop (left) with patient Vic Chivers. Julie Mead from OSL is on the far left and the remainder of the group are from Interserve and the James Cook radiology and oncology team.
A 65-year-old grandfather was the focus at the official opening of the new TomoTherapy treatment unit at James Cook Hospital, Middlesbrough. As the first prostate cancer patient to receive the advanced IG-IMRT Victor Chivers, who works for the pharmaceutical industry, said he had experienced no side effects other than feeling a little tired for a few weeks after the treatment.
The TomoTherapy service commenced at James Cook in June. Since then there has been a steadily increasing number of patients being treated. Now the machine is fully staffed, the department aims to treat 30 cases a day.
The first person to be treated was a 55-year-old female with breast cancer and an unusual chest anatomy. “We could not have treated this lady on a linac, nor with surgery, so it’s extremely rewarding to know we can now offer this quality of treatment to a wider range of patients,” said Karen Pilling, superintendent radiographer in charge of the TomoTherapy unit . “The start-up from training through to treating our first patients has been really smooth and easy, and we are seeing reduced in-room set-up time. With integrated CT image guidance we are able to see at the console the treatment plan with isodose contours overlaid onto the daily CT images, giving us extra reassurance that the treatment is the most accurate possible.”
See the full report on page 24 of the November 2010 issue of RAD Magazine.