Radiotherapy services in Abu Dhabi
Overview
The specialty of Radiation Oncology at Mediclinic in Abu Dhabi provides highly specialised, individualised and comprehensive radiotherapy care to patients with cancers and also treatment for some benign conditions. We have a highly experienced team of Radiotherapy staff who are committed to providing treatment in an individualised, evidence based, state of the art and most importantly in a patient centric manner.
Through our comprehensive cancer care approach, we provide a truly multidisciplinary management of cancer through the involvement of various experts such as Surgical Oncologists, Medical Oncologists, Radiation Oncologists, Radiologists and Pathologists in each patients care, through the Tumour board.
Radiotherapy is the treatment of cancers using ionising radiation to destroy or control cancer cells. It is estimated that Radiotherapy cures around 40% certain types of cancer, either on its own or in conjunction with surgery and/or chemotherapy.
Where cure is not possible, it can be effectively used to control cancer or alleviate symptoms such as pain, bleeding, etc. It is an integral part of the cancer treatment in 1 out of 2 patients diagnosed with cancer, at some point during their cancer journey.
It is also used to treat some benign (non-cancerous) conditions that cannot be controlled by other methods, such as surgery.
The course of radiation at Mediclinic in Abu Dhabi is prescribed on an individual basis, dependent on size, type and location of the problem, as well as the individual’s general health. Each patient’s treatment is planned individually and delivered by a team of highly qualified experts in the field including Radiation Oncologists, Physicists, Radiation Therapists and Dosimetrists.
How is radiation therapy delivered?
Mediclinic in Abu Dhabi uses the latest advanced radiation therapy techniques and technology to deliver accurate and safe radiation to tumours. We use a state of the art Varian Truebeam linear accelerator with on board imaging for image guidance and respiratory gating for complex treatments such as DIBH and SBRT.
The treatment is usually delivered each day (Sunday to Thursday) over a variable number of weeks. This allows the radiation to target cancer cells and provides healthy cells an opportunity to recover, over the weekend.
External beam radiation does not make you radioactive therefore it is safe for patients to be around other people, including children and pregnant women.
For any enquiries please call us on 0559181198 or email us at MAIRRadiotherapy@mediclinic.ae
Our Machines
Linear Accelerator
At Mediclinic Airport Road, we have the latest Varian Linear Accelerator – TrueBeam®.
This is a high precision radiotherapy system which integrates into one machine, precision engineered hardware with advanced software to accurately plan, shape the radiation beam into any target shape and deliver it with submillimeter accuracy, RapidArc® treatment deliver system for faster delivery of daily treatments and on-board imaging, including cone beam CT, for accurate targeting of the cancer and sparing of the normal tissues.
Armed with these technologies we are in a position to gain better tumour control with fewer side effects.
The ‘Real time tumour tracking’ capability, allows to accurately target moving tumours such as those in the lung and to deliver the Deep Inspiratory Breath Hold (DIBH) technique, the standard of care in treating breast cancer.
With the Varian Truebeam®, we can deliver a variety of techniques treating all types of cancer including stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) with submillimeter accuracy to treat your cancer.
CT Simulator
Prior to any radiotherapy treatment, a highly specialized radiotherapy CT simulation scan needs to be acquired.
The Siemens Somatom go.Sim allows us to obtain high quality images with precision of position to accurately plan and deliver your radiation treatments.
With the help of this cutting edge equipment we have the ability to monitor the patient’s breathing cycle where necessary and generate 4DCT scan capturing tumour movement through the entire breathing cycle.
This state of the art CT scanner allows us to raise the bar when it comes to treatment precision and minimizing side effects.
Treatments offered
Radiotherapy treatments may be delivered in several ways, using different types of radiation, with external beam radiotherapy using photons being the commonest method. With the advance of technology, various techniques are used to precisely target the area of concern, while sparing the normal surrounding structures.
We use various state of the art techniques to accurately target the tumour while sparing the surrounding normal tissues in order to maximise the treatment benefit while minimising the side effects Learn more about your treatment pathway.
The various techniques we use for treatments are
- 3DCRT
- IMRT
- VMAT/RapidArc
- IGRT (image guided radiotherapy)
- DIBH (Deep inspiratory breath hold)
- Stereotactic body radiotherapy (SABR/SBRT)
- SRS
Cancer types treated
We offer treatment to various types of cancers as listed below
- Breast
- Rectum
- Prostate
- Gynaecological cancers
- Pancreas
- Bladder
- Anal cancer
- Lung
- Thymic tumours
- Head and neck cancers
- Salivary gland cancers
- Brain tumours
- Lymphoma
- Sarcoma
- Skin cancers (melanoma, squamous cell cancer, basal cell cancer)
- Palliative radiotherapy to various sites
- Some benign conditions such as Keloids, Hypertrophic bone formation, Thyroid eye disease
Follow up care
During and after radiotherapy, you can be assured of professional support and ongoing care from your Radiation Oncologist, Nurse and Radiation Therapist for guidance and support in managing side effects.
After completion of your treatment, our team will arrange your follow up with the most relevant care provider to follow up and assess tumour response to treatment, manage long term effects or continue other treatments. This may be your Radiation Oncologist, Medical Oncologist, Surgeon or Physician.
If you experience any side effects during or in the 4 weeks after your Radiation therapy treatment, please contact our specialist nurse for advice.
