Understanding treatment options
Dr Prinitha Pillay will consult with you and gather all the medical information the multidisciplinary team will need to review your case uniquely. Our multidisciplinary team’s expertise will figure out what is necessary to deliver the best outcome suited for the patient. Every patient case is reviewed with a team that includes medical, surgical and radiation oncologists, and before radiation treatment with a medical physicist, radiotherapists, specialised nurses and a nutritionist — who will support the patient throughout the process. I will discuss the risks and benefits of cancer treatment and how each treatment option may impact your quality of life.
The COMPREHENSIVE CANCER CARE allows our patients an all-inclusive cancer care experience.
A multi-disciplinary team with specialised oncological expertise
The patient has access to advanced treatments, including Chemotherapy, Radiation Therapy, Targeted Therapy, SBRT, Brachytherapy, Radio Frequency Ablations and modern surgical Oncology techniques. These options are available at state-of-the-art facilities, which provide cutting edge technology.
Convenience
Dr Pillay consults and treats patients at their preferred facility, containing unnecessary costs to patients. Located in Johannesburg, it allows for easy access for those from afar.
Flexibility
with treatment schedules to meet referring doctors’ needs ensures privacy and protects patient interests. Patients can manage time away from work or home through flexible treatment schedules.
Our cancer treatment plans give you the best chance to get to the other side and have a good quality of life. Our patients are not defined by illness alone: we see their courage and bravery. We realise that dealing with cancer is a challenge for the patient and the people who support them. That is why we place a priority on one-on-one relationships: we stand alongside you as we treat your disease.
Treating Cancer
Nutritional Support
Nuclear Medicine
Radiation therapy
The oncology centres use the most advanced radiation technology.
External radiation therapy
Radiotherapy entails the treatment of lesions with ionising radiation. In the case of external beam radiotherapy, high energy x-rays or electrons are generated outside the body, usually by a linear accelerator machine, and these high energy beams are targeted at the tumour site where they deposit their energy within the body to destroy cancer or abnormal cells.
Intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT)
IMRT is an advanced form of high accuracy radiotherapy that delivers a high dose of radiation to a tumour. Multiple beams are shaped to conform to the lesion outline. Each beam has a number of sub-beams or segments, and the intensity of each segment varies. In effect, IMRT allows control over both the shape of the radiation field as well as the dose that gets delivered to each sub-area of the field. This results in the delivery of the prescribed dose to an irregular tumour, at the same time sparing the normal structures and tissue around the tumour.
Image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT)
IGRT enables the creation of a three-dimensional image of the actual patient and the position of the lesion on a daily basis. This increases the accuracy of the treatment set-up and delivery. IGRT can also be used to adapt and modify the treatment plan to allow for anatomical changes during the course of radiotherapy. The increased precision in adapting to anatomical changes improves tumour control and reduces the side effects of treatment.
Gated radiotherapy
Gated therapy is used to treat tumours in the regions of lungs, liver and stomach, where there is a possibility of organ movement during breathing. The treatment beam is then coordinated with the patient’s breathing rhythm. The CT images are acquired at a particular breathing phase and the linear accelerator is gated to irradiate the tumour during that phase. In effect, gating means that the equipment is used to restrict the radiation beam to only be on during a specific part of the breathing cycle.
Rapid arc
Rapid arc is a treatment that delivers with a single 360-degree rotation around the patient. This significantly shortens the treatment time, compared to normal treatment time, which improves patient comfort as the time they spend on the treatment couch is much shorter. During a 360◦ rotation, a precise sculpted 3-d distribution is delivered. This is made possible by a treatment planning algorithm that simultaneously changes three parameters during treatment, namely the rotation speed of the gantry, the shape of the treatment aperture by using a multi-leave collimator, and the dose delivery.
Stereotactic irradiation
Stereotactic irradiation is the external beam radiation technique that currently offers the highest level of precision. High dose radiation can be delivered to small lesions in the brain (intracranial) or the rest of the body (extra-cranial), with a position accuracy of 1 mm.
Brachytherapy
Unlike external beam therapy, brachytherapy involves placing radioactive material directly inside the body. Brachytherapy enables a physician to use a higher total dose of irradiation to treat a smaller area in a shorter time or treatment course than is needed in external beam radiation. Brachytherapy can be temporary or permanent.
Permanent brachytherapy, also called seed implants, involves the placing of radioactive seeds or pellets in or near a tumour, leaving them there permanently. After weeks the radioactivity level eventually diminishes to zero but the seeds remain in the body.
Radioisotope treatment
Different isotopes are absorbed by different organs, making targeted treatment of a specific organ possible. Radioisotopes may also be given as a pain reliever to patients suffering from metastasis.
Gamma Knife Icon radiosurgery
The Gamma Knife Icon is the sixth generation of the Leksell Gamma Knife system. The technology with its microsurgery capabilities is used in the treatment of selected malignant and benign brain, head and neck tumours, vascular malformations in the brain as well as functional disorders. Gamma Knife Icon is the most precise radiosurgery device on the market internationally, enabling the treatment of virtually any target in the brain with ultra-high precision. The technology delivers powerful doses of precision-targeted radiation that acts as a surgeon’s ‘scalpel’. This greatly reduces many of the risks associated with traditional cranial surgery as it consistently limits radiation doses to healthy tissue.
Chemotherapy
Johannesburg is world renown for its medical oncology specialists and the use of newer targeted therapies in oncology. Facilities are able to administer medication in all sorts of therapeutic fields.
Surgical cancer treatments
Various cancer surgeries for diagnosis, treatment, palliative care including excisions, biopsies and scopes or robotic-assisted surgery. Intricate neurosurgery to treat brain cancers can performed in fully equipped interventional theatres which are linked to MRI and CT scanners, making it possible for patients to be scanned during a procedure
Paediatric cancer care services
The initial diagnosis can be frightening and stressful for the child and his/her parents. These emotions are not out of place and quite understandable but they are also compounded by a lack of information as well as some misconceptions. In most cases, there is no specific reason or cause for the child to have developed cancer as it is no one’s fault, so parents should not feel ashamed or guilty. The good news is that all childhood cancers are treatable and most are curable.
Cancers can affect any part of the body the most commonly affected are bones, blood, and muscles. The familiar cancers include blood cancers (leukaemia), cancers of the lymphatic system, (lymphomas), cancer of the brain and spinal cord, muscle and bone cancers (sarcomas) and other cancers seen in very young children (embryonal cancers). As of today, more than 80% of children with cancer get cured, depending upon the type of cancer they are suffering from. Like for some cancers acute lymphoblastic leukaemia and Wilms tumour, there is a 90% cure rate, while for Hodgkin disease and germ cell tumours, it is almost 95%. Children are not adults; their needs are different and need to be treated by someone who is trained to look after them. With timely, appropriate and complete treatment, the majority of children with cancer get cured and can lead their lives peacefully.
Information and support are important to feel sure about the treatment. The more you know about cancer, the less confused or unprepared you will feel. Regular parent support group meetings should be attended, which will be an opportunity for parents of children with cancer to meet other parents whose children are either being treated or have completed treatment.
Once the diagnosis is confirmed, the oncologists provide detailed counselling to parents. Treatments are available for all childhood cancers, and most children can be cured. The team should ensure that all children are comfortable and free of pain as the treatment of childhood cancer is long and tough. The main types of treatment options available are:
Surgery – The tumour is removed by an operation
Chemotherapy – Medical drugs are given to stop the growth of cancer cells. The chemotherapy drugs travel through the bloodstream. As the drugs are carried in the blood, they destroy cancer cells in the body. Therefore, chemotherapy is useful for treating cancers that are generalised, e.g., blood cancers or those cancers that have spread to other parts of the body. Though chemotherapy drugs destroy the cancer cells completely they also affect the healthy cells. As a result, chemotherapy is given as a series of treatments in cycles/phases to allow the healthy cells to recover. The chemotherapy drugs can cause side effects as all children may react to them differently.
Radiotherapy – Radiation is an invisible treatment that requires the use of high energy rays to destroy the cancer cells in one particular area of the body. This treatment is given in daily sessions at the hospital and takes about 10-15 minutes. However, the overall length of treatment depends on the type of tumour and may extend from 2-6 weeks. High doses of radiation are applied to stop the cancer cells from growing
Supportive Care
Care given to improve the quality of life of patients. The goal of supportive care is to prevent or treat as early as possible the symptoms of a disease, side effects caused by treatment of a disease, and psychological, social, and spiritual problems related to a disease or its treatment. Also called comfort care, palliative care, and symptom management. Supportive care is an approach to care that addresses the person as whole, not just their disease