Icon Group first in ACT to deliver advanced radiation therapy using HyperArc technology

A Canberra cancer patient has become the first person in the Australian Capital Territory to be treated with advanced radiation therapy at Icon Cancer Centre Canberra using Varian’s HyperArc™, a new cutting-edge hyper-targeted radiation therapy treatment for multiple brain tumours.

54-year-old Canberra local Yuhua Shi was first diagnosed with Stage III invasive breast cancer in 2015 after noticing a lump in her left breast. Yuhua went on to receive a mastectomy, four and a half months of chemotherapy and four weeks of radiation therapy and was delighted to learn she had gone into remission.

Unfortunately, four years later the discovery of a lump in her neck led to devastating news – the cancer had returned and spread to her lymph nodes. Her next round of treatment involved 15 months of chemotherapy at Icon Cancer Centre Canberra, before Yuhua and her family learned her cancer had spread again in September 2020, this time to her brain.

“This means that patients can receive treatment that will extend their life while spending time doing what they love, without the stress of travel during this difficult time.”

HyperArc can efficiently deliver treatment to multiple tumours in just a few minutes through one automated setup, compared with other systems which require multiple setup points and the need for treatments to stop and start, meaning patients are on the treatment bed for longer.

For Yuhua, receiving advanced treatment so quickly was reassuring and comforting in her time of need.

“I feel so blessed and lucky I could receive this advanced treatment. It gave me more confidence that I could be treated with the latest technology, and physically it was so easy to deal with only going through treatment three times. I think the accuracy of the treatment is unbelievable.”

The delivery of these techniques includes national training, extensive quality assurance checks, and support to ensure treatment is delivered with the highest safety and quality.

Icon Cancer Centre Canberra is a state-of-the-art cancer treatment facility delivering Canberra’s first private radiation oncology service, in addition to providing chemotherapy and treatment for malignant and non-malignant blood disorders under the one roof. Private health insurance is not required for radiation therapy with 80-90% of treatment costs covered by Medicare.

HyperArc technology is available across Australia and New Zealand at Icon Canberra,  Icon Greenslopes, Icon Gold Coast Private, Icon Maroochydore and Bowen Icon Cancer Centre.