St George's Cancer Care Centre expands services to Dunedin and Queenstown

October 25, 2023

Those seeking cancer treatment through St George’s Cancer Care Centre, based in Christchurch, will now have access to a radiation oncologist in Dunedin and a medical oncologist in Queenstown.

Dr Tivanka Senanayake is working in Dunedin, and Dr Jim Edwards in Queenstown, to offer those in the region who’ve been diagnosed with cancer the chance to see one of the private hospital’s oncologists closer to home.

Dr Senanayake says, “The Cancer Care Centre receives referrals from across the South Island which can mean a lot of travel for some patients to Christchurch. By having me based in Dunedin, we can now offer patients in the area access to pre and post treatment appointments.

“Patients from Southland, or around Otago, can book an appointment with me to discuss their treatment plan, before travelling to Christchurch to receive radiation.

“It’s also easier for patients to travel closer to home and have family members with them as we discuss this difficult period in their life.”

Dr Senanayake is working full time for the Centre and will be based in Dunedin three days a week, and two days at the Centre in Christchurch where he will begin to treat patients with its new radiation machine – an MR linear accelerator (MR Linac).

The MR Linac is used in the treatment of soft tissue cancers and is the only one of its kind in the country, and the 100^th in the world to be sold.

Dr Senanayake recently spent time in Australia for training on an MR Linac and says the technology is ground-breaking when it comes to treating specific cancers.

“This machine provides an MRI in real time on the patient, so we can see soft tissues in detail, meaning we can see the location of the cancer much more easily,” he says.

“This can allow us to apply a higher dose of radiation to the cancer without a large effect to the soft tissue surrounding it keeping side effects to a minimum for the patient.”

St George’s Cancer Care Centre will also be holding monthly clinics in Queenstown with Medical Oncologist Dr Jim Edwards, all part of the Centre’s vision to improve pre and post cancer treatment access to patients across the South Island.

“We are providing world class care closer to home. It’s all about bringing this top line care to the patient, and that means to regional areas outside of Christchurch,” Dr Edwards says.

“The travel for patients can be a lot during this difficult time in their life, and even a video consultation isn’t the same as face-to-face when dealing with distressing conversations.”

Dr Edwards, who has worked for the Cancer Care Centre for more than a decade, says he’s hoping the service in Queenstown can expand to regular clinics in the future.