Cancer patients here will have access to one of the most advanced forms of radiation therapy once the new National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS) building opens its doors in five years’ time.
NCCS director Soo Khee Chee said: “It will make the patient’s journey through a difficult situation, and complex environment, much easier.”
The new building will house a $100 million proton therapy centre. Proton therapy allows for more precise targeting of a tumour, compared with the X-rays used in standard radiotherapy. It also minimises a patient’s exposure to radiation and cause less damage to healthy tissue and organs.
Apart from the centre, the new building will house more facilities for cancer care, education and research.
The cancer centre’s new 24-storey building will have a larger capacity than its current six-storey structure and handle more patient visits. The new building will also have dedicated space and facilities for distinct types of cancer, whether colorectal or breast. Also, the current building has only four clean laboratories, but the new one will have at least 20 of them.
Patients will also be able to make more informed decisions on cancer care and treatment, with a new resource centre.
The new building, which has an estimated $400 million construction cost, will also have more room for research with a new Division of Cancer Prevention and Population Health.
Read more here.
Source: The Straits Times, 3 June 2017