Patients & Families

One in two patients diagnosed with cancer will potentially benefit from radiation therapy. The Kathleen Kilgour Centre is here to make this care accessible to patients in the Bay of Plenty and beyond.

Our centre offers:

  • Services for both public and private patients
  • Access to a range of accommodation and transport options. We welcome enquiries from patients outside of the Bay of Plenty region.
  • An attractive, caring and supportive environment for patients, and their families
  • Access to a range of support services for optimising treatment outcomes
  • Follow up care
  • Free parking for patients within the facility
  • Chemotherapy services based next door to the facility if required

When you receive treatment at the Kathleen Kilgour Centre, you will be treated in a calm, and modern environment where privacy is valued, with the best possible treatment technology. Our patient process has been designed to work around your lifestyle, with a streamlined service that saves you time and stress.

Having a friend or family member with you during the treatment process can provide a great deal of comfort and support, so we welcome you to have a support person with you wherever possible.

What is Radiation Therapy?

Radiation therapy uses targeted energy (e.g., X-rays, radioactive substances) to destroy cancer cells, shrink tumours, and/or alleviate certain cancer-related symptoms. It may be used:

  • as a primary treatment to destroy cancer cells
  • in combination with other treatments to stop the growth of cancer cells
  • before another treatment to shrink a tumour
  • after another treatment to stop the growth of any remaining cancer cells
  • to relieve symptoms of advanced cancer e.g. to help control pain

Radiation therapy works by damaging cells. Normal cells are able to repair themselves, whereas cancer cells cannot. The time between daily treatments allows your healthy cells to repair much of the radiation effect, while cancer cells are not as likely to survive the changes. 

Techniques used at the Kathleen Kilgour Centre allow doctors to optimally target the radiation dose to treat the cancer whilst protecting healthy cells.

Sometimes radiotherapy is the only treatment a patient needs, at other times, it forms one part of a patient’s multifaceted treatment regimen. For example, prostate and larynx cancer are often treated with radiotherapy alone, while breast cancer may be treated with surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

For more in depth information about how a Linear Accelerator works please view the following video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSgnWfbEx1A&list=PL18C46063BA30078D

Planning Your Visit

Preparing for appointments at the Kathleen Kilgour Centre is easy.

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