500 patients every year
New oncology centre to open at Epworth
HUNDREDS of local cancer patients will have access to a new lifesaving oncology centre set to open in Geelong next year.
The facility, to be based at Epworth Geelong, will be the region’s first private radiation oncology centre and have the capacity to treat 500 new patients a year.
The state-of-the-art treat- ment centre is being established by Australia’s largest dedicated cancer care provider, Icon Group, to cater for Geelong’s rising cancer rates.
Cases in the area are predicted to increase by 40 per cent by 2031, and more than half of all patients are expected to require some form of radiation therapy.
Services at the new facility will be available to patients who access both public and private healthcare and will reduce the burden on the public system.
Icon Group CEO Mark Middleton said the centre will provide Geelong patients and their families greater access to, and choice of, lifesaving health care.
“Icon’s mission is simple — to deliver the best care possible, to as many people as possible, as close to home as possible,” he said.
“With cancer incidences on the rise, the figures clearly indicate the need for additional cancer care services.
“This new state-of-the-art centre will provide the people of Geelong with increased choice and greater access to advanced radiation therapy treatments, the likes of which are absolutely world-class, and will provide much needed care into the future.”
The facility will offer a range of radiation therapy techniques and technology including advanced stereotactic radiation therapy which is used to treat small tumours commonly located in the brain, spine or lung.
This technology provides pinpoint precision to multiple tumours while limiting radiation doses to surrounding healthy tissue.
The centre will also contain a Varian True Beam linear accelerator — the latest technology to deliver advanced high quality radiation therapy.
There are currently just three linear accelerators servicing the Geelong region.