Category: health & wellness

Technology to heal your heart

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Novalis Tx leading the way in cancer treatment on the African continent 

Life Healthcare Vincent Pallotti Hospital in Cape Town has just made substantial upgrades to its successful “first for Africa” multimillion-Rand Novalis Tx  radiotherapy equipment, otherwise known as Novalis Radiosurgery, which allows for faster and more accurate targeting and treatment of previously untreatable tumours. Charlene Yared-West finds out more and meets the team behind the technology. 


Can cancer really be beaten?
Cancer has become so common as more and more people are diagnosed with some form of the disease. Sadly, we are all programmed to think it could never happen to us or to someone we love, but then it does… A family member, a friend or a colleague. The question we want answered then is; can cancer be beaten? Research from the University College of London School of Pharmacy projects that worldwide, cancer is expected to reach 26-million new diagnoses and 17-million deaths by 2030, however, because of the new therapies, pharmaceuticals and technologies that are constantly being developed, like the Novalis Tx equipment, many forms of cancer could be eradicated for most age groups by the year 2050.

 Last year, it was reported that over 1-million patient treatments worldwide had been performed with the Novalis Tx machine, since it was created in 2003, calculated at an estimate of 200-thousand treatments per year. Studies have shown that one out of every two cancer patients can benefit from Novalis Radiosurgery, which is good news for people diagnosed with various forms of cancer. “I believe that this machine offers top-end technology which allows us to treat our patients with a high degree of accuracy and due to its high output can also minimise treatment times,” says Dr Rainer Fröhling, Radiation and Clinical Oncologist at Life Healthcare Vincent Pallotti Hospital in Cape Town. “It allows us to target cancers in sensitive areas and minimise side effects and in conjunction with other treatment modalities, offers the chance of better outcomes to our patients.”

Novalis Radiosurgery: Saving lives without the need for scalpels
The Novalis Tx has been in operation since 2003 in selected countries around the world and was launched in South Africa at Life Healthcare Vincent Pallotti in  December 2013, ten years after its inception. It is a non-invasive radiotherapy which uses state-of-the-art high-tech systems to destroy cancer anywhere in the body in short 20-minute sessions, without the need for surgical incisions or serious operations. 

So, how does it work?
The machine with it sleek design, rotates around the patient from every angle, delivering the radiation beams where needed onto the body. The team of attending medical professionals including oncologists, a medical physicist and  radiotherapists  manage and guide the Novalis Tx skillfully, obtaining the necessary information about the tumour during the treatment. 

“The Novalis Tx is used to treat both malignant and benign conditions. In simplest terms, it produces radiation in the form of photons and electrons used in radiotherapy, which cause damage to the structure of a tumour cell which causes the tumour cells to die and for the tumour to shrink – and this can be seen in follow-up scans,” explains Dr Fröhling. “The Novalis Tx produces the radiation which then enters the patient from the outside and targets the tumour on the inside of the patient. The machine has technology to make its treatment as accurate as possible and has an array of imaging tools to ensure precision.” 

The machine is so smart, says Dr Fröhling, that it can take into account the patient’s breathing, so as to focus the radiation beam on the tumour only, while minimising the radiation dose to the normal tissues around the tumour. “These highly focused treatments are particularly useful for brain tumours, as well as those found in the lung, pancreas, spine and liver, where one has to be extremely careful not to damage surrounding tissues – and where surgery would be very difficult,” he says. Dr Fröhling adds that the machine is linked to sophisticated software to plan the treatment, assess the dose and positioning of the radiation in the patient and deliver the radiation with a high degree of accuracy. 

How does it compare to other cancer therapies?
Besides its acute precision to the millimetre, normal tissues are increasingly spared of radiation damage and this can therefore also lower the side effects of the treatments and the Novalis  TX shapes the radiation beam precisely to match the tumour or lesion. Conventional radiotherapy also usually takes place over an extended time frame of between two and six weeks, whereas Novalis Radiosurgery is much shorter and can be done in as little as one treatment in certain cases. “I do believe that the technology available to us with the Novalis Tx allows for highly accurate radiotherapy and, in the correct indication, this accuracy is clinically relevant,” says Quinton Africa, Lead Therapist at the Novalis Tx unit at Life Healthcare Vincent Pallotti Hospital, Cape Town. “Chemotherapy and surgery maintain a vital role in the successful treatment of many cancers and all available treatment options should be accessible to our patients to maximise their results. Radiotherapy on certain brain tumours may lower the extent or eliminate the need for surgery and so, decrease surgery-related death.” The cost of treatment with the Novalis Tx is more than conventional radiotherapy but with the correct motivation for the correct indication it is considered by most medical aids. Eligibility for radiosurgery depends on the type and location of the tumour and the extent of the patient’s disease and is determined on a case by case basis. 

Minimal side effects
Novalis Radiosurgery does not require anaesthesia and usually, there is no scarring and very little risk of infection when compared to conventional surgery, explains Mr Africa. “You might however experience a headache, dizziness and fatigue immediately after treatment, so it would be advisable to arrange for transport home after the treatment,” he says. 

Meet the team behind Novalis Tx Radiosurgery at Life Healthcare Vincent Pallotti Hospital
The specialised Oncology Centre at Life Healthcare Vincent Pallotti hospital embodies a multidisciplinary  team approach to cancer care – a distinction the unit is very proud of. Patients are treated by a team of oncologists,  radiotherapists,  medical physicists, nurses, surgeons, psychologists and other cancer specialists that work together for a truly multidisciplinary approach to cancer treatment in a modern, convenient and comfortable setting. One member of the treatment team,  radiotherapist,  Lesle Campbell, explains that it is her responsibility to deliver accurate treatment and ensure that patients are informed, happy and well cared for. “I respect the fact that I am helping patients at a very difficult time in their lives. I am able to listen, encourage and support as well as actively partake in helping them overcome cancer,” she says. “I also love that my job is technically challenging and that each day brings a new challenge. It is not an easy career path , but a rewarding one.” Another staff member,  radiotherapist, Jamie-Lee van Niekerk ensures that treatment given on the Novalis Tx is administered with minimal discomfort for patients. “It is amazing to see how technology has changed the landscape of cancer care,”  she  says. “It is a very fast-paced job that advances and changes all the time. This is part of why I love what I do.”  Radiotherapist, Lucinda Oosthuizen, also part of the team explains that a large part of her role is to listen to the stories of the families she sees. “We have to inform the families about treatment and the side effects – we really do build strong relationships with our patients,” she says. “The gratitude most patients display for the role we have played in their lives and their treatment journey and seeing their condition improve is rewarding and fruitful.”

<TEAM PHOTO WITH CAPTION DETAILING NAMES AND ROLES OF EACH TEAM MEMBER TO WORK ON THE NOVALIS TX – PIC TO COME ON MONDAY.>

<Sidebar> Novalis Tx equipment to be rolled out in Pietermaritzburg later this year
Hopelands Cancer Centre has the largest group of specialist oncologists in Kwazulu-Natal, caring for patients with cancer across the province. “After its successful launch in Cape Town, we are excited to be able to offer access to this unparalleled treatment equipment to our patients at what will be only the second Novalis Tx facility on the continent,” says Dr Ziad Seedat, Radiation and Clinical Oncologist at Hopelands Cancer Centre in Kwazulu-Natal. “Life Healthcare is currently assembling a talented and experienced team to operate the equipment and achieve the highest levels of service quality for patients. Our doctors have been training in Germany over the past three years to improve our skills and make maximum use of capabilities of the new equipment. In conjunction with our surgical colleagues, this facility will allow for curative therapy of tumours that cannot be completely removed safely.The speed and precision of this machine in targeting both malignant and benign tumours in intra- and extracranial locations is beyond compare.”
<Sidebar> Other treatable conditions with Novalis Radiosurgery
According to Dr Fröhling, the machine can be used to treat malignancies, benign tumours and some non-cancerous conditions, included in the list below. “We are finding new ways of using the technology to treat various conditions all the time, the sky is the limit,” he says. “The patients who entrust us with their care are our daily motivation. Working with a team of dedicated  radiotherapists, planners, a physicist and oncologists allows us to get the best out of our equipment for our patients.” Some of the conditions that can potentially be treated include;Malignant brain tumours ( metastasis from other cancers, primary brain tumours, tumours of the skull )Benign tumours of the brain and in the head and neck area ( meningiomas, acoustic schwannomas, pituitary adenomas),  Functional pain conditions ( trigeminal neuralgia)Blood vessel malformations ( arterio-venous malformations)tumours involving the occular structurestumours close to the spine where radiation dose to the nerves/ spinal cord needs to be minimisedMalignant tumours of the pancreasLiver tumours such as metastasis Lung tumours – primary lung cancers and metastasis 

Everybody’s talking about… Sitting

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Sit, stand or move? How can you overcome physical inactivity in your everyday life?  

Research shows that people who sit for eleven or more hours a day are 40% more likely to die over the next three years, whether they are physically active or not. Movement is a vital nutrient for health. Considering your levels of stress, increasing workload sitting at your desk and the amount of exercise you do, this can be a frightening statistic… so how can you avoid this risk? Charlene Yared-West speaks to the experts to find out more about how to sit less and live longer… 

Let’s start at the very beginning…

A sedentary lifestyle is rewarded and cultivated in our society from a very young age, explains Adele Pudney, physiotherapist from ADK Physio & Hydrotherapy (wellspringcentre.co.za). Babies are often overprotected and kept ‘safe’ to the extent that it lowers their natural and necessary exploration of the environment, she says. “The baby then grows into a child and at school is forced to sit for long hours behind a school desk. Now add to this poor alignment and ergonomics and these little bodies grow into the patterns that are adopted for extended periods, which don’t have good health outcomes.The World Health Organisation recommends at least 150 minutes of exercise a week, in the face of the statistic that adults typically spend 90% of their leisure time sitting down.” 

Sitting on your health problems

Obesity, high blood pressure, excess body fat, abnormal cholesterol levels, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, cancer, non-alchoholic fatty-liver disease and even depression are some of the health problems which result from a sedentary lifestyle, says Mr Zeno Rossouw, physiotherapist based at Life Orthopaedic Hospital at Vincent Pallotti. “In my scope of practice I have seen clients who take for granted their access to information and education and have a lack of commitment to their overall health,” he says. He adds that people can only control that which is in their capability, such as ensuring a healthy diet, adequate exercise, not smoking and avoiding alcohol. Australian research shows that the average office worker only spends 73 minutes of their daily life walking – not sitting – and so in 73 minutes all their cooking, walking and any exercise they may get is done, adds Dr Greg Venning, author and chiropractor at Peak Chiropractic in Cape Town (capetownchiro.com). “We are genetically wired to love movement. It triggers the reward pathways deep in our brain and should make us want to move more, but modern sedentary living disconnects us from that primal joy. Movement of the body, especially the spine, acts like a windmill that generates stimulation and energy for the brain and every moment we spend sitting we’re robbed of that stimulation,” he says. 

Hit the pause button – and move!

A central problem is the structural damage that sitting causes that leads to nerve damage, organ dysfunction, muscle tightness, pain, fatigue and a whole host of problems, says Dr Venning. “Getting moving again will limit future damage and there will be some damage that your body cannot undo on it’s own. You can get a good idea of that damage by testing your relaxed posture,” he says. “If you slump, then there are problems that need assessed and addressed. Your body should hold you up effortlessly and you should not need to hold your body up.” Liesl Way, physiotherapist at Life Westville Hospital suggests these simple changes to interrupt long periods of sitting, which can make all the difference. 

  • Regular movement at your desk: Set an alarm every for 30 minutes as a reminder to pause and move for 2 to 5 minutes. This time should include marching on the spot, walking, stretching the neck, lower back, shoulders out of the slouch position (called reverse postures). While sitting, squeeze buttocks, pump ankles, march legs, bend straighten knees under the desks. 
  • Maintain a good posture: While sitting or standing, maintain good postural habits.
  • Regular daily exercise: 30 minutes, five times a week. 
  • Choose differently: Choose to take the stairs and not the lift, take a walk to a colleague’s desk instead of sending them an email, get up and walk to collect a file, instead of rolling your chair to fetch it. Have a walking meeting instead of a sitting one. Stand while reading. Park further away from the workplace to walk further. Have two work stations; one for sitting and one for standing and do different aspects of your job at these stations. 
  • Don’t be a couch potato: Instead of fast forwarding the TV ads, exercise while they are on!
<SIDEBAR>Before you sit down… rather stand, or better yet, try a treadmill desk!Standing workstations and treadmill desks have become more popular over the years. Experts agree that they have their benefits, but they also have their downsides. In everything, balance is key. “When using a standing workstation, blood can pool in the legs and put strain on the feet and legs, which can lead to plantar fasciitis and knee, hip and back problems. You will have to build up your standing tolerance slowly by listening to your body,” explains Adele. “If your body starts aching, change your position and make sure you wear comfortable, well supporting shoes, as high heels will not be kind to your feet.” Dr Venning suggests making a game out of it, which will encourage movement amongst employees. “Put penalties in place for every time you’re caught not standing for a phone call. Standing workstations are a great idea if they are managed well,” he says. Zeno points out that  treadmill desks could improve attention and memory after the user has stopped walking. “The constant slow pace will add to energy levels, soothing of joints and muscles thereby having a positive impact on the health of the employee,” he says.