Cancer treatment brought close to home

Cancer patients requiring oncology treatment now have the option of receiving that treatment in Warkworth.

On December 1, the Rodney Surgical Centre, in conjunction with Canopy Cancer Care, introduced private oncology treatment and consultations at the centre at 77 Morrison Drive.

The service will offer chemotherapy, immunotherapy, antibody therapy, hormone therapy and more targeted therapies for a range of cancers from breast and upper gastro-intestinal cancer to leukaemia, skin/melanoma, colorectal and lung cancer.

Surgical centre chief executive Zaneta Schumann says the new service is in response to requests from the Mahurangi community for locally based cancer treatment.

“We have equipped a room at the centre for cancer therapy, so that our local patients don’t have to travel every day to Auckland or Whangarei, and they will be looked after by two experienced and specialised nurses from Canopy,” Schumann says.

Starting in January, Dr Abbey Wrigley, an oncologist who specialises in breast, lung, gastro-intestinal and colorectal cancers, will also be available for weekly consultations on Tuesdays.

Dr Wright sees the service being beneficial for a range of patients, but particularly anyone receiving long-term palliative care.

“The cancer journey can be complex and, at times, overwhelming for both patients and their families,” she says. “The convenience of local treatment options, with less travel, will be really helpful for them.

“It will mean that some patients can, if they wish, drive themselves to an appointment, giving them back some of their independence.”

Dr Wrigley says the treatment of cancers has changed enormously over the past decade, particularly since the introduction of a new class of the immunotherapy drugs that help a person’s own immune system to fight the cancer.

“For instance, chemotherapy was not greatly effective in the treatment of melanoma, but with immunotherapy, the prognosis is a lot less dismal.”

As a private provider, Canopy has access to all classes of drugs – Pharmac funded drugs, unfunded drugs, Medsafe approved drugs and drugs that do not have Medsafe approval, but have proven results overseas.

Schumann says that to take advantage of the local service, patients need a referral from their GP or specialist.