At Auckland Radiation Oncology, our goal is to provide the best possible care for our patients. We know having radiation therapy treatment is often an emotionally and physically challenging time for our patients and their loved ones.
 

We are seeking a suitably qualified senior medical physicist to join a supportive, friendly and enthusiastic team. This is a full-time position and preference will be given to applicants with four or more year’s post-qualified experience. We offer a relocation package for suitably qualified international applicants.

Auckland Radiation Oncology (ARO) is proud to support the Annual World Cancer Day on 4 February. The sentiment of this 3 year worldwide campaign “We Can, I Can” aligns with the values of our staff and specialists to ensure access to, and delivery of quality patient care at ARO.

PSMA is an enzyme found in abundance on the cell surface of prostate cancer cells. Until recently patients newly diagnosed with high risk prostate cancer or patients where the prostate cancer has returned or metastasised would generally undergo a range of scans such as CT, bone and MRI to detect and stage prostate cancer.

Dr. Benjamin, clinical director Auckland Radiation Oncology (ARO) was inducted into the Kiwi Indian Hall of Fame on 23 June 2016. The award was presented by Rt Hon John Key, Prime Minister of New Zealand and recognizes Dr. Benjamin's outstanding contribution to medicine and the community. The Hall of Fame is a platform for acknowledging and celebrating the success of Kiwi-Indians.

It’s melanoma March this month and the Melanoma March National Appeal is kicking off with 'A call to check your skin'. Melanoma New Zealand’s goal is to get Kiwis, who have the highest melanoma rates in the world, to be proactive in looking out for the early signs of this deadly skin cancer. Over 4000 New Zealanders are diagnosed each year with melanoma. Around 300 New Zealanders die of melanoma every year.

ARO has attracted internationally experienced and highly qualified medical phyicists to be part of their Physics Team.

The physics team has a critical role to ensure radiation safety and protection for our patients, staff and the general public. Their responsibilities include, but are not limited to, developing new treatment techniques and commissioning the new technologies to deliver the most effect treatment to deliver the best patient experience. 

Dr Arunachalam has recently joined ARO as a Radiation Oncologist Consultant. His specialties include lung, skin, sarcoma, as well as Stereotactic Ablative Radiotherapy, Non-malignant and Palliative cases. He is an enthusiastic, passionate and caring Radiation Oncologist who works at Auckland City Hospital. 

The next Elekta 4D Advanced IGRT and Clinical Training Course will be hosted and led by Auckland Radiation Oncology on 19^th and 20^th June 2015. 

Pancreatic cancer is set to become the second leading cause of cancer death in the US by 2030, but a new study reveals a new molecular target for therapy.

Although it is common knowledge that a sedentary lifestyle brings bad health, the extent to which this may be mediated by regular exercise was less well known, until now...

Adding head and neck cancer screenings to recommended lung cancer screenings would likely improve early detection and survival, according to a multidisciplinary team led by scientists affiliated with the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI), a partner with UPMC CancerCenter.

Along with taking any medicines your doctor prescribes, there are many things you can do to help your body stay strong while undergoing treatment for cancer...

Stress can play havoc with your health, but emotional and social support can help patients learn to cope with psychological stress. Such support can reduce levels of depression, anxiety, and disease- and treatment-related symptoms among patients. 

A clinical trial that combined stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) with a specific chemotherapy regimen more than doubled survival rates for certain patients with stage 4 lung cancer, according to a new report in the Journal of Clinical Oncology 

An aerobic exercise program can reduce fatigue in women undergoing radiotherapy for breast cancer

Dietary advice on preventing cancer should emphasize the importance of eating a plant-based diet and restricting alcohol consumption.

Active Breathing Coordinator was well tolerated and significantly reduced Mean Heart Dose while preserving local control

A new fact sheet from Oncology Nurse Advisor explores the relationship between use of hair coloring products and possible cancer risk.

The accuracy of the dose calculation in the treatment planning procedure is strongly influenced by the treatment planning system. The RayStation planning system utilized at ARO has some advanced features to tackle these challenging and complex demands.

Dr Lao presented at the Updates in Cancer Care Symposium on 15th November, held on the Mercy Hospital site.
This presentation covered the use of Stereotactic Ablative Radiation Therapy in the treatment of Lung Cancer.

Minimizing television viewing, to less than two hours per day, and increasing exercise, to four-plus hours per week, were associated with lower mortality risk among colorectal cancer survivors

A new study finds that even if you do add a few kilos once you quit smoking, your post-cigarette health is still much better than if you'd kept on smoking.

New studies are exploring the role of physical activity in cancer survivorship and quality of life, cancer risk, and the needs of populations at increased risk... Read on to find the links between physical activity and cancer

A new article on Oncology Nurse Advisor suggests that combining exercise with chemotherapy shrunk tumors more than chemotherapy alone

Incidental Prophylactic Nodal Irradiation and Patterns of Nodal Relapse in Inoperable Early Stage NSCLC Patients Treated With SBRT

Find out why cancer researchers are studying a possible connection between vitamin D and cancer risk

Find out what it's like to be a Radiation Therapist with this behind the scenes video from Otago University

Auckland Radiation Oncology selected as Australasian training site for Elekta Advanced Symmetry™4D IGRT Clinical Training Course

Dietary Total and Insoluble Fiber Intakes Are Inversely Associated with Prostate Cancer Risk" according to a new study published in the Journal of Nutrition.

The concept of oligometastasis has important implications for cancer treatment because patients with limited numbers of metastasis previously thought by some clinicians to be incurable might be cured with local cancer treatments such as radiotherapy or surgery.

SBRT or SABR has demonstrated favorable rates of local control for primary and metastatic tumors and provides a treatment option for deep-seated tumors or for those who cannot undergo surgery.

Stereotactic radiotherapy can offer a short and well-tolerated treatment for lateral pelvic recurrences in previously irradiated areas in patients otherwise not treatable.

Stereotactic body radiation therapy can be an effective treatment for early stage non-small cell lung cancer

The Median Isn't the Message by Stephen Jay Gould - an empowering personal story of statistics and cancer.

Yoga improves the quality of life of women undergoing radiotherapy for breast cancer better than the use of simple stretching exercises alone, according to a study published online in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. It also appears to control patients' cortisol levels, which can lead to better outcomes.

In the United Kingdom, a high-level governmental pledge that guaranteed radiotherapy to all cancer patients who needed it has fallen short of expectations, a new report acknowledges.

Dr DAVID F. LEWIS will be presenting a Radiochromic Film and Dosimetry Workshop at Auckland Radiation Oncology, on 17^th March 2014 from 10am - 1pm.

Auckland Radiation Oncology has recently participated in research with the University of Otago, with regard to the prevention of severe skin reactions during radiation therapy by applying a thin transparent silicone dressing to the skin from the first day of treatment.

Adults with low-grade gliomas, a form of brain tumor, who received chemotherapy following completion of radiation therapy lived longer than patients who received radiation therapy alone, according to long-term follow-up results from a NIH-supported randomized controlled clinical trial. Low-grade gliomas have a more indolent or slower growing behavior and better outcome compared to the more common high-grade gliomas such as glioblastoma

Talking about the 'C' word - World Cancer Day February 4th 2014



 

Auckland Radiation Oncology has been designated as the first reference site in the Southern Hemisphere for RaySearch’s RayStation planning system.

There are patients with stage I–III non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who are not suitable for curative radical chemoradiation therapy. There are patients with an isolated solitary extracranial metastasis who have improved outcomes compared with those with cranial or multiple metastases. Patients of good performance status receiving moderate dose radiation therapy have improved survival. Two regimens of moderate dose chemoradiation therapy for such patients were compared in a randomized phase II trial.

The aim of this pharmaco-epidemiological study was to evaluate the prevalence of oropharyngeal candidiasis (OPC) in cancer patients treated with chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy.

Prostate segmentation on MR images attracted greater research interest in recent years, with the introduction of conformal radiotherapy (CRT) and intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) for prostate cancer. Accurate delineation of tumor target volume and organs at risk becomes increasingly important in radiotherapy treatment planning. However, it is difficult to perform fully automated segmentation in T2-weighted images because the signal intensity within the prostate is inhomogeneous as it reflects the underlying characteristics of the glandular tissue [1]. The interface between the prostate and the rectum and bladder is not always clear.

Further to the development of three-dimensional (3D) conformal, intensity-modulated, image-guided, adaptive radiation therapy, major changes have occurred in the last three decades in the treatment planning of nonmetastatic prostate cancer. These techniques have significantly improved treatment precision, allowing for greater sparing of critical organ and delivery of escalated doses of radiation to the target volume.

The majority of commercial radiotherapy treatment planning systems requires planners to iteratively adjust the plan parameters in order to find a satisfactory plan. This iterative trial-and-error nature of radiotherapy treatment planning results in an inefficient planning process and in order to reduce such inefficiency, plans can be accepted without achieving the best attainable quality.

We propose a quality assessment method based on data envelopment analysis (DEA) to address this inefficiency. This method compares a plan of interest to a set of past delivered plans and searches for evidence of potential further improvement.

To quantitatively evaluate radiation-induced impaired oesophageal transit with oesophageal transit scintigraphy and to assess the relationships between acute oesophagitis symptoms and dysmotility.

Aiming powerful beams of radiation precisely at tumors helped control their growth and helped people with early stage but inoperable lung cancer live longer

Study finds more targeted form of radiation improves survival in patients with head and neck cancers


 

World Cancer Day aims to dispel the myths that surround the diagnosis and treatment of cancer.

During the past two decades, radiotherapy treatment techniques have advanced significantly due to the development of dynamic multileaf collimators coupled with commercially available inverse planning systems. This has led to the widespread use of intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) which facilitates improved conformance to the treatment volume while minimizing dose to surrounding avoidance structures... This research paper looks at using data envelopment analysis (DEA) to address potential inefficiencies in planning adjustment.

Is it safe for a patient undergoing radiation or chemotherapy to drink alcohol?

Research into the value of multidisciplinary discussions with regard to patient care

Combined Modality Therapy for Stage I-II Diff use Large B-Cell Lymphoma Provides Excellent Local Control and Clinical Outcome in the Rituximab Era

Implications of partial nodal region coverage and the need for adjacent uninvolved nodal region coverage

Hundreds of cancer patients in the Greater Auckland region will be able to start their radiation treatment days sooner thanks to the introduction of an innovative planning system called RayStation® at leading radiation therapy centre, Auckland Radiation Oncology (ARO). 

Spine stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is increasingly being used to treat metastatic spinal tumors. As the experience matures, high rates of vertebral  compression fracture (VCF) are being observed. 
What is unknown is the mechanism of action; it has been postulated but not confirmed that radiation itself is a contributing factor. This case report describes 2 patients who were treated with spine SRS who subsequently developed signal changes on MRI consistent with tumor progression and VCF.

New, or progression of existing, vertebral compression fracture (VCF) post spine- stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) for spinal metastases has been reported in the range of 10-39%. Lesion location, radiological appearance, presence of deformity, mechanical pain and percent of vertebral body involvement has reported as potential predictors of VCF. We report our pilot experience and retrospective analysis of patients thought to be at high risk of progressive VCF who were stabilized prophylactically with a percutaneous technique followed by spine SRS.

Cancer patients will soon benefit from the first radiotherapy programme of its kind to arrive in New Zealand.

New Zealand’s first private radiation therapy centre, Auckland Radiation Oncology (ARO), is introducing a Stereotactic Radiotherapy programme using 4-D Image Guidance and Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT). 

ARO is proud to announce it's success in the JRA Best Workplaces Awards 2011, finishing in the top ten in the small business category at the awards ceremony held at the Langham Hotel in Auckland on Thursday 17 November.  This is ARO's third consecutive year as a finalist and is another great milestone for the organisation.

One of the major concerns for women undergoing radiation therapy to the breast area is the extent of the skin reaction or "burning" they might experience.  This is a very individual reaction to the treatment and the amount of skin changes vary greatly from patient to patient, dependant on skin type, age and lifestyle amongst other things...