The $1.8 million funding boost announced this week for radiation treatment in Dunedin is probably the best Christmas present the department could hope for, Southern Blood and Cancer Service radiation oncologist Dr Shaun Costello says.
Dr Costello said Health Minister Tony Ryall's one-off funding boost for radiotherapy this week would help the Southern Cancer Centre in Dunedin meet the stricter target for treatment, which reduces from six weeks to four in December.
He said the service also needed to replace the oldest of its two linear accelerators if it was to meet the new target long-term.
The service was seeking funding for a new $5 million linear accelerator, Dr Costello said.
Until about August next year, the department would be able to meet the four-week target most of the time. However, cancer cases were increasing because of the ageing population and that would put extra pressure on the service.
In the meantime, he was "grateful" for the extra funding, which allowed the service to buy new software, capable of increasing patient numbers by 10 a day.
