A NEW cancer care centre at Hurstville aims to provide radiotherapy to patients within two days of referral for treatment.
Genesis CancerCare Hurstville will help relieve to pressure on cancer treatment services at St George and Sutherland hospitals by providing an outpatient-based service for public and privately insured patients.
The centre is at Waratah Private Hospital in the former Medica Centre, Hurstville building.
At St George Hospital, patients receiving radiotherapy are treated within four weeks.
Genesis CancerCare Hurstville site director Joseph Bucci, a radiation oncologist, said the centre would "essentially eliminate any significant waiting time".
"At Genesis, we can get patients in for treatment within a couple of days," Dr Bucci said.
Dr Bucci — who is also a radiation oncologist at St George and Sutherland hospitals, and Hurstville Private Hospital — said access to timely treatment was paramount.
"One of the things that causes a lot of distress to families is when they can't get immediate access and that's not always necessary, but we do know it causes distress, even if they have to wait a week, which is not an unreasonable situation."
A report by the Royal Australian And New Zealand College of Radiologists about the management of waiting lists in radiation oncology stated significant delays in starting radiation therapy reduced survival rates and worsened quality of life.
It stated radiation therapy waiting times should be "as short as reasonably achievable".
The Genesis Centre has advanced technology that can reduce treatment times and minimise radiation exposure to surrounding organs.
Dr Bucci said trying to optimise cure rates but minimise toxicity was "what the game's all about".
Chemotherapy will be provided at Genesis from early next year.
At St George Hospital, patients requiring urgent chemotherapy receive treatment within one to three days.
Non-urgent chemotherapy patients receive treatment within 10 days.
Sutherland Hospital sees only non-urgent chemotherapy cases, with treatment provided within 11 days.
Waratah Private Hospital is at 31 Dora Street, Hurstville.
The Medica Centre went into receivership in September 2013, less than three years after it was built at a cost of $200 million.
It was also going to have a cancer care centre.
Genesis centre leader Scott Piggott said Genesis brought in all the machines for the new centre and basically just used the shell of the existing building.
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