Cancer Institute resumes radiotherapy treatment
Sep 13, 2018
UCI late last month stopped administering radiotherapy treatment to cancer patients after the Cobalt 60 machine, imported from Czech Republic in August last year, scaled down its operations
HEALTH
Cancer patients in need of radiotherapy services to kill and stop cancer cells from growing by use of high-energy rays, can now readily access services at Uganda Cancer Institute(UCI) in Mulago.
UCI late last month stopped administering radiotherapy treatment to cancer patients after the Cobalt 60 machine, imported from Czech Republic in August last year, scaled down its operations on the number of patients treated in preparations for servicing.
Radiation therapy is a common form of cancer therapy. It is used in more than half of all cancer cases."To our dear clients and the general public, we would like to let you know that the radiotherapy services have resumed today," reads a twitter post.
''The hospital regrets inconveniences caused and calls upon all patient to go for treatment as directed by the doctors. We encourage each and every one to go for the treatment as directed by the doctors," wrote Christine Namulindwa, the UCI spokesperson.
Addressing journalists in June, Dr. Kavuma Awusi, a senior medical physicist at the radiotherapy department at UCI, explained that the machine, according to the guidance from the manufacturer is supposed to be serviced every after six months.
Annually UCI treats 27,100 cancer cases of which 60,000 are new cases and 78% of newly diagnosed cancer patients die by the end of one year. The machine treats over 75% of cancer patients annually.
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