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Tips for getting through treatment with a radiation therapy mask
Rockingham resident, Robert is grateful to have world-class cancer care close to home
Robert is one of the first patients to be treated on Icon Rockingham’s second linear accelerator (linac), which went live in June 2023.
The centre is home to a new advanced TrueBeam linac with cutting-edge IDENTIFY technology, which offers patients the option to have tattoo-less treatment.
Robert (79) was diagnosed with prostate cancer in November last year. Faced with the prospect of a two-hour round trip each day to have radiation therapy treatment at Fiona Stanley Hospital, where he had his diagnostic tests, Robert was thrilled to discover he could have his treatment just ten minutes from home at Icon Cancer Centre Rockingham.
“It was magic being able to have my treatment close to home,” says Robert, who finished 39 sessions of radiation therapy treatment in July under the care of Dr Rainer Fröhling.
Icon (Rockingham) is ten minutes from home, so I could drive myself to treatment and it didn’t take up much of my day. And the team at Rockingham are wonderful. It’s like a family atmosphere there. The staff are friendly and you get to know other patients while you are waiting for treatment. I had treatment on the new machine towards the end of my treatment cycle. I think it’s great that more local patients can be treated at Icon.
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With treatment finished, Robert has turned his attention to planning his 80th birthday celebrations in November – a getaway to Busselton with his wife, Joyce.
“We try to visit Busselton twice a year, in May for Joyce’s birthday and in November for my birthday,” says Robert. “We missed out in May this year because I was having my radiation therapy treatment. So we will hopefully get there in November, now treatment is behind me.”
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