• 4/F., Champion Tower, 3 Garden Road, Central, Hong Kong
  • Unit. 1908-09, 19/F, Mira Place Tower A, 132 Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui
logo

Radiation Therapy

Search

Radiotherapy is a treatment where radiation is used to kill cancer cells. It works by causing damage to the DNA of cancerous cells. This clinic offers state-of-the-art radiotherapy including TomoTherapy and Y-90 radioembolization to effectively treat various kinds of cancer with low side effects based on the patient’s specific needs; opening new horizons for radiotherapy.

 

The following is information on the side effects and radiotherapy application, the latest radiotherapy technology and the radiotherapy offered in this clinic.

Conventional Radiotherapy side effects

Conventional radiotherapy tends to cover a larger radiation field with less precise delivery of the radiation dose to the targeted tumour area and therefore tends to cause damage to healthy cells and tissues in the vicinity, leading to side effects. In general, common side effects of conventional radiotherapy will include:

Short-term side effects of radiation therapy

  • Reduced saliva leading to dry mouth and taste changes
  • Loss of appetite
  • Inflammation of mouth, throat or oesophagus
  • Difficulty swallowing
  • Hoarseness with voice box involvement
  • Skin problems such as red, dryness, peeling and ulcers
  • Hair loss at the radiated area
  • External and middle ear inflammation

Long-term side effects of radiation therapy

  • Long-term dry mouth with increased risk of of teeth and gum infections
  • Damage to nasal mucosa that can cause nosebleeds
  • Hardening of the soft tissues in the neck that leads to stiffness
  • Skin dryness and colour changes
  • Damage to the top of the lungs with no apparent symptoms
  • Tinnitus, chronic middle ear inflammation or hearing loss
  • Stiffness in the bones of the jaw
  • Hoarseness with voice box involvement
  • Reduced thyroid activity and the production of extraneous hormones

Is Radiotherapy compulsory for cancer patients?

Radiotherapy has different uses according to the stage of the cancer treatment and can be used as the main treatment, or together with another treatment or even as a method of pain relief. The majority of cancer patients are treated with radiotherapy following their surgery to kill off any remaining cancer cells and to reduce the risk of recurrence whilst improving their survival rate. In addition, some cancer patients may require radiotherapy before surgery so as to shrink the tumour and improve the success rate of the surgery plus lower the chance of post-operative infection. After radiotherapy, patients with inoperable cancers may be able to undergo surgical resection to remove their cancer.

“5-day treatment initiation” promise

  • INNOVATIVE RADIOTHERAPY STRATEGY | SEAMLESS PROCEDURE DESIGN

Cancer treatment needs to start early. Transformation in radiotherapy procedural design is necessary, as a smooth treatment procedure in all aspects allows patients to start their radiotherapy treatment earlier while improving the accuracy of the treatment and reducing the side effects experienced within radiation therapy. This clinic institutes five different seamless radiotherapy procedural designs and allows us to deliver a “5-day treatment initiation” promise to all our patients.

One-stop holistic service with a professional medical team

The radiotherapy team is led by medical physicists and adopts advanced radiotherapy planning software that allows efficient planning on a 24/7 schedule.

Personalized radiotherapy treatment planning

Unique Hong Kong Adventist Oncology Center facilities for personalized radiotherapy treatment to enhance the precision of treatment and optimize treatment results while reducing the impact on healthy tissues as well as minimizing side-effects. The advanced 4D image guidance technology allows for greater accuracy of the radiation beam to the tumour by measuring the patient’s lung activity whilst thye’re breathing.

Integrated approach

Integrating all the equipment from radiotherapy and medical physics within one department enhances efficiency and reduces patient waiting times; assisting us with adhering to our commitment of commencing treatment within three days.

Higher precision

Via the use of advanced radiotherapy instrumentation, including TomoTherapy, ELEKTA Versa HD™ Linear Accelerator, 4D image guidance, 6D patient treatment bed, Y-90 Radioembolisation and more.

A one-on-one patient care coordinator

Every patient is assigned a health care coordinator who is responsible for all the administrative aspects of their patient care which enables the patient to get on with their treatments with one less worry.

Understand other cancer treatments:

 

References：

  1. Hong Kong anti-cancer society: radiation therapy radiation therapy side effects and care
    https://www.hkacs.org.hk/ufiles/Radiotherapy.pdf
© 2023 HKIOC. All rights reserved.