Kenya’s fight against cancer boosted with arrival of advanced treatment machine

KENYA –A New ultra-modern cancer detection machine named the Elekta’s versa HD system has been launched in Kenya to enhance quality cancer diagnosis, treatment and patient care across the country.

The launch of the Elekta’s versa HD system at HCG CCK cancer center in Nairobi will also play a significant role in bridging the quality and accessibility of proper health care for cancer patients.

According to the Health Ministry, cancer accounts for approximately 10 percent of all disease mortalities in Kenya with 42,000 new cancer cases and 27,000 deaths reported every year.

The major types of cancer accounting for more than 70 percent of cases in the country are breast, cervical, prostate, esophageal and colon cancers with lifestyle changes, obesity, advanced age and late diagnosis being the leading causes of cancer cases.

The Elekta’s versa HD system machine is an advanced linear accelerator designed to treat up to 150 cancer patients in one day.

Doctors will be able to use the system’s imaging capabilities to precisely target and manage tumors located in critical areas in comparison to before when lack of precise targeting lead to organs located near the tumors getting affected by the radiation.

The cancer treatment machine will improve treatment outcomes for patients and reduce radiotherapy treatment side effects experienced among patients being treated using hypo fractionated regimens.

For instance, the machine will reduce the overall patient treatment duration from between five and seven weeks for standard treatments to a maximum of one week after access to the best outpatient oncology care in Kenya and the entire region.

Kenya to acquire US$5 million key cancer treatment machine

Meanwhile, Kenya has ordered a highly sophisticated machine known as CyberKnife valued between US$3 million to US$5 million that uses advanced technologies to track tumors anywhere in the body to aid in the treatment of cancer.

The Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral and Research Hospital which hosts the Integrated Molecular Imaging Centre will house the cancer treatment machine for chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

The machine’s unique robotic design keeps the radiation on target even while the tumors move and it can be used as an alternative to surgery or for patients who have inoperable surgically complex tumors.

The CyberKnife which is set to arrive in three months’ time conducts non-invasive treatment for cancerous and non-cancerous tumors as well as other conditions where radiation therapy is indicated.

It is used in the treatment of various types of cancers including brain tumors, head and neck cancer, lung, breast, spinal, liver, pancreas and prostate cancers.

Additionally, it can also be used for radiotherapy as it is very specialized and will be able to get to some organs which are unreachable with the other machines since a CyberKnife can turn 360 degrees.

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