Three new linear accelerators are being installed at the center, which currently only has one. This device is commonly used for external beam radiation treatments for patients with cancer and can treat all parts and organs of the body. They deliver high-energy x-rays to the region of the patient’s tumor while sparing the surrounding normal tissue.
In addition, 90 million pesos is to be spent on brachytherapy equipment. This treatment allows a radiation source to be placed inside or next to the area requiring treatment. As a tumor can be treated with very high doses of localized radiation without damaging surrounding healthy tissue, brachytherapy is considered effective for cervical, prostate, breast and skin cancer.Hospital de Especialidades Director Marcelo Casillero Manzano, said the new equipment will make the Centro Medico the second-best equipped hospital in the country for radiology, second only to the Hospital de Oncologia del Centro Medico Siglo XXI in Mexico City.
Around 80 percent of cancer patients undergo radiation therapy at some stage during their illness.