Thanks to a single 10-minute dose of radiation therapy, Harold Sciberras was home in no time and with no side effects.
The 81-year-old Diggers Rest man, who had an inoperable tumour on his right lung, volunteered to be a guinea pig at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre for a new cancer treatment.
The Flattening Filter Free (FFF) technology uses a stereotactic beam to deliver an accurately controlled “knockout punch” to tumours. The procedure takes about 10 minutes.
Normally, Stereotactic Ablative Body Radio- therapy (SABR) treatment is administered over three to five sessions, each session lasting between 40 and 60 minutes.
“We were told there was a 90-95 per cent chance that they will be able to kill the cancer, and that in itself is amazing,” Mr Sciberras said.
“That percentage would be unheard of and there were absolutely no after effects.” He said the “miracle” treatment would benefit an “enormous number of people”.
“The location of the tumour makes it very difficult to operate or target with conventional radiation without affecting my healthy lung tissue. So this new technique has come at the right time for me and many others.”
Oncologist Shankar Siva says doctors are hoping that delivering higher dosages will reduce treatment times even further.
“Patients
such as Harold with small inoperable primary cancers in the lung, or some liver and kidney cancers, will benefit from this treatment the most,” Dr Siva said.
The FFF technology has been a work in progress for six months. Star Weekly would like to wish Mr Sciberras, who turns 81 today, a very happy birthday.
