The delivery of state-of-the-art cancer treatment for patients in the state's North was at the core of Dr William Prout Holman's vision when he came to Tasmania in 1925.
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Now, almost a century later, a trust made up of friends and supporters of Launceston's W.P Holman Clinic is working to ensure this vision remains a reality.
Last week the clinic began treating cancer patients with a new cutting-edge technology, made possible by a $124,000 contribution from the trust.
The technology provides access to stereotactic body radiation therapy – used to treat small tumours in the chest, abdomen and pelvis that cannot be removed surgically or treated with conventional radiation therapy.
The technique, involving high doses of radiation, is effective in eliminating tumours with great precision.
While the treatment has previously been available in Hobart, the W.P Holman Clinic is the only Tasmanian centre using Octavius equipment.
Radiation therapist Ben MacFarlane said the device allowed for dose-checking down to millimetre accuracy – an element critical to ensuring the delivery of high quality individualised treatment.
“What we do in the initial stage is once the doctor has referred the patient for the treatment, we organise a simulation appointment,” he explained.
“In that appointment we lay them down on the bed, exactly the same as they would be for the treatment.
“We monitor their breathing and then we do a couple of scans to design the treatment on.
“The patient then goes home and the doctor will mark-up the area they want to treat, based on those scans.
“We then sit down with our equipment and plan the radiation and how it will be delivered, the angles it will be delivered and the dose it would be delivered to.
“It's then run through the Octavius to check the radiation dose is correct.
“Then we get the patient back in, set them up exactly the same way as they would be from the simulation procedure, and perform the treatment.”
It takes up to four radiation therapists to perform the 45-minute treatment, who monitor the progress from a separate consult room.
Because of the precision of stereotactic body radiation therapy, clinicians can focus the radiation dose to the outline of the tumour, minimising the impact on the surrounding healthy tissue.
With the first patient treated last week, Mr MacFarlane said the service would have a significant impact.
“It's a great initiative to have in the North of the state and it will provide a specialist service for patients that previously wouldn't have been available,” he said.
“Patients would have previously needed to go to Hobart or interstate to receive this treatment, so it is certainly of a great benefit to our local community to be able to do it.
“It would have been very near to impossible to acquire that [Octavius] equipment, without the trust itself. We identified the need for specialised equipment, to take the next step in this process.
“We took it to the trust, and to our great thanks, it provided us with the funds to do that.”
Launceston's W.P Holman Clinic, the state's first cancer centre, provides outpatient medical oncology, radiation oncology and clinical haematology services.
Dr Holman laid the foundations for the centre through his own medical practice, built on the ideology that care and compassion should equal the delivery of cutting edge cancer treatment.
When Launceston General Hospital's first radiation therapy centre opened in 1957, it was initially named the Peter MacCallum Clinic.
After the state government assumed responsibility for it in 1986, it was renamed the W.P Holman Clinic in honour of the Dr Holman's contribution to Tasmania's cancer services.
Since 1999 the Northern W.P Holman Clinic Trust have continued his legacy, by securing donations and bequests for the promotion, upgrade and maintenance of excellence in cancer care.
Northern Cancer Service director and trust board member Dr Stan Gauden said it would not be possible without ongoing community support.
“I am really proud of what this centre has been able to achieve,” he said.
“Just because someone lives in regional Tasmania doesn't mean they shouldn't be able to receive the best care.
“It’s invaluable and the community has shared in our vision to help make the world a better place. To embrace technology and innovation, to provide the best possible care to cancer patients in the state's North.”
In its 20 year history the trust has contributed more than $3 million to the W.P Holman Clinic, supporting the addition of new technology, research, clinical trials and refurbishments.
Dr Gauden said Tasmania had a proud history for pioneering excellence.
“It's been almost 100 years since Dr Holman came to Tasmania,” he said.
“In that time there have been many significant pioneers and we have been blessed with many medical firsts.
“Everybody knows someone who has been either directly or indirectly impacted by this disease. We all wish for the best outcome.”