| Azlan Othman |
JERUDONG-BASED Pantai Jerudong Specialist Centre’s (PJSC) Radiotherapy Department boasts some of the most advanced technologies in the world to treat cancer.
Addressing the media conference yesterday, Executive Director of PJSC Dr Mazul Adimin bin Haji Awang Besar said that the centre has invested millions of dollars to make it an internationally-renowned healthcare facility.
“Brunei is one of the three countries in the world that owns the Varian Edge, PJSC’s state-of-the-art accelerator. The centre aims big, introducing a slew of highly advanced equipment and facilities,” he added.
Explaining about the latest surgical advancement in the field of radiotherapy Dr Mazul Adimin said the availability of advanced services in the Sultanate has reduced government spending on sending patients overseas for treatment and the stress of staying abroad which may last months in some cases. He said the radiotherapy services started at the centre in 2016 and it has handled about 600 cases in the last two years.
“Before this, we used to send patients overseas for treatment. Today, we are treating about 97-98 per cent patients at the PJSC. We would like to thank His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Sa’adul Khairi Waddien, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam for establishing this facility. In the future, we hope to give 100 per cent treatment in the Sultanate. With our technology, we can compete with the rest of the world,” he noted.
“The investment we put into the centre is for the long term – the next 15 or 20 years. With the high end treatment here, we can attract patients from overseas like Malaysia. We are providing the latest and the very best treatment,” he added.
Armed with two new state-of-the-art linear accelerators, namely the Varian Trubeam and Varian Edge, brachytherapy equipment, a CT simulator and 3-D treatment planning system, the Radiotherapy Department also conducts radiosurgical treatment that is frameless, non-invasive, fast and accurate.
Meanwhile, Consultant Radiation Oncolo-gist and Head of Radiotherapy Department at PJSC Dr Jamsari bin Khalid said, “Getting treatment here in the country is a big bonus for the patients as their family members are able to visit them daily.
“We have recently started new radiotherapy services, namely Stereotactic Radiosurgery (SRS) and Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy (SBRT). Both SRS and SBRT treatments are non-surgical ablative radiation used to treat tumors of the brain that is not accessible when conducting open surgery.
Medical Director of PJSC cum Director of The Brunei Cancer Centre (TBCC) Dato Seri Laila Jasa Dr Babu Sukumaran said cancer has been the number one killer in the Sultanate and PJSC is enhancing its public awareness programmes. He said cancer cases have overtaken cardiovascular diseases as the main cause of deaths in the country.
During the press conference, the PJSC panel also elaborated on the recent referral case conducted by the radiotherapy clinical team as the team now embarks on handling their first paediatric cases.
PJSC consists of three centres of excellence, namely TBCC, Brunei Neuroscience, Stroke and Rehabilitation Centre (BNSRC) and Maxillofacial, Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Centre (MFPRSC).