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Radiation therapy to become a luxury

Cate Macintosh

Radiation therapy to treat cancer will be completely out of reach for New Zealanders who cannot afford private medical insurance a decade from now, unless urgent action is taken to invest in machines and staff, oncologists say.

A stocktake of radiation oncology services from 2011 to 2019 reveals a growing gap between recommended treatment and what can be delivered for patients as a result of staff and machine shortages.

At least half of all cancer patients can benefit from radiation treatment, but in New Zealand only about a third have the potentially lifesaving therapy, the recently published study by the Australian and New Zealand College of Radiology found.

During the period examined, radiation was provided to 37% of cancer patients on average across the country, with regional variations from a low of 22% to a high of 44%.

Radiation oncology services are already being rationed for many patients, said study author Melissa James, a radiation oncologist.

Patients should receive radiation therapy within two to eight weeks of a referral, depending on the type and location of the cancer. But some patients were waiting longer than 12 weeks, James said.

The therapy can offer a cure for some cancers, including lung and prostate cancer.

For others it provides protection against recurrence, or spread, or is used to relieve pain for terminally-ill patients.

‘‘We know that once you start waiting, your risk of the cancer coming back increases every week beyond that eight weeks.’’

In some cases opportunities to cure or slow cancer through treatment was lost when timely access was not possible, James said.

‘‘The bottom line is that there’s been very little growth in the whole radiation sector in terms of work force and the machines but the cancer numbers are increasing.

‘‘So the gap between what is ideal and what is actually in practice has just widened further and further apart over that 10 years.’’

James said the situation was ‘‘absolutely a crisis’’.

‘‘We are so far behind, unless we do something now we’re not going to have a radiation oncology service in the public health system in the future.’’

There are 64 radiation oncologists here, but if there is no increase in the number of trainees, the workforce would reduce to 59 by 2029, James said. Medical physicists, who keep the radiation machines going, are also in short supply.

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2022-05-28T07:00:00.0000000Z

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https://fairfaxmedia.pressreader.com/article/281487869973524

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