The Future: Achieving new possibilities by using all the tools available to us

This is my last post for the month.  I hope you have enjoyed my posts!

I am currently working on a presentation for the radiation therapists and nurses in radiation oncology.  The presentation will be an update on our brachytherapy programs for gynaecological cancers.  We have been developing several new techniques and want to ensure everyone is up to speed.

The last slide of my presentation will be on the future of GYN brachytherapy at our centre.  I have included a wish list, essentially what I want for my patients. On my list is a new operation room with the capacity of using the ultrasound, the MRI and the CT scan while the patient is asleep.  There are very few rooms in the world that have this kind of setup and my wish is to have one at our centre.  I realize I sound like a little boy at Christmas making a wish list, only it is not for my benefit but for the benefit of my future patients. This equipment would also be applicable for breast cancer and prostate cancer brachytherapy.

I believe this is where we are heading, using all the tools that are available to us; including, molecular and genetic testing to ensure targeted treatments for patients (or the tumours),  to offer treatment that is more precise and more effective than before, while minimizing the side-effects. We are on our way to achieving this possibility through the Personal Response Determinants in Cancer Therapy (PREDICT) project that my colleague Dr. Janine Davies discussed in last month’s blog.

This is all I wanted to say for this month.  Thank you for reading my posts!