New treatment equipment coming to the Cape Breton Cancer Centre

More Cape Breton cancer patients will receive treatment on the island in the new year.

Stereotactic body radiation therapy, a specialized technique used to treat cancer patients, will be available at the Cape Breton Cancer Centre in Sydney in May.

Tom Ashford, the radiation oncology manager with the Cape Breton Cancer Centre, said the machine delivers a targeted, high dose of radiation to a tumour, resulting in fewer treatments.

"Currently, patients come every single day for roughly three weeks. With this treatment, what we're able to do is offer that treatment within three to five days," Ashford told CBC Cape Breton's Information Morning.

He said traditional radiation treatment causes side effects. This treatment can help alleviate some of those side effects, and has less of an impact on surrounding tissues.

Training required

The therapy is currently available in Halifax, and according to Ashford there are over 30 patients from Cape Breton who must travel there for treatment.

"That's a burden they shouldn't have to deal with. So, by us offering this treatment here we're avoiding that travel to Halifax, we're avoiding the cost associated with that, we keep the patient at home with loved ones and we know patients emotionally do better when they're at home," said Ashford.

A small group of staff from Cape Breton will travel to Halifax for training on the stereotatic body radiation equipment before it is operational in Cape Breton.

The first round of treatment will be offered to those with early-stage lung cancer. Ashford said that is the largest group of patients who can benefit from the therapy. From there, the treatments will expand to other forms of cancer.

The equipment to provide stereotatic body radiation therapy comes at a cost of close to $300,000. It's being purchased with money raised through the Cape Breton Hospital Foundation by the community.