Ceylinco Healthcare Centre dispenses nearly 10,000 cancer treatments

The Radiation Treatment Unit of the Ceylinco Healthcare Centre had dispensed nearly 10,000 treatments for patients afflicted with cancer at the end of March 2013, its fifth full year of operation, the centre announced this week.

The state-of-the-art unit at Park Street, Colombo 2 was the first cancer treatment facility in the country to offer Linear Accelerator treatment when it commenced operations in September 2007. It is credited with carrying out the first ever Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) in Sri Lanka.

According to Dr. Sarath Abeykoon, the centre’s Medical Director, 106 such IMRT procedures had been performed by March this year. Additionally, the Linear Accelerator (Linac) had dispensed 1,684 radiation treatments, and the Radiation Treatment Unit had performed 5,150 chemotherapy infusions and 946 Radioactive Iodine treatments, Dr. Abeykoon disclosed.

“This unit has clearly played a significant role in helping hundreds of people fight cancer, in a comfortable, non-hospital atmosphere, with the benefit of having family and friends around them,” he said. “It has also enabled the saving of substantial sums in foreign currency by making overseas travel unnecessary.”

He revealed that among the unit’s patients was an American who travelled to Sri Lanka from El Paso to undergo two months of treatment. In addition to treating various forms of cancer, the Radiation Treatment Unit had also dispensed 178 treatments for hyperthyroidism, Dr. Abeykoon said.

Ceylinco Healthcare Services Limited (CHSL) is now building a second Radiation Treatment Unit which will house the country’s first TomoTherapy Treatment System for the treatment of the full spectrum of cancers. The TomoTherapy treatment system enables Image Guided Radiation Treatment (IGRT), which brings a new dimension in delivering precise radiation to the target and sparing normal tissue.

Established in collaboration with the Washington Hospital Centre, Ceylinco Healthcare Services owns and operates the state-of-the-art Ceylinco Radiation Treatment Unit, the Ceylinco Healthcare Centre and the Ceylinco Diabetes Centre, all at Park Street, Colombo 2, offering comprehensive screening, diagnostic services and medical care.