Focuses on treatment of cancer with chemotherapy, targeted therapy, immunotherapy, and hormonal therapy. Medical Oncology is usually the most effective as part of a treatment plan which may include surgical and/or radiation oncology.

Chemotherapy uses powerful chemicals to target and kill fast-growing cells in the human body. It is often used as part of a cancer treatment plan since cancer cells grow and multiply faster than most other cells in the body.

Chemotherapy is used to cure cancer, stop or slow the growth of it or lower the chances of the cancer returning. Chemotherapy can also be used to reduce the pain and other symptoms that are the result of a tumour.

Asiri Health supports cancer patients with chemotherapy wards at Asiri Surgical and Asiri Hospitals Kandy and Matara.

Immunotherapy activates a person’s own immune system to fight the cancer. This form of treatment uses substances produced in the body or prepared in a laboratory to suppress or boost the immune system which finds and destroys the cancer cells.

Immunotherapy is used to treat many different cancers and can be used on its own or as part of a multi-modality treatment plan. Asiri Health supports cancer patients with Immunotherapy at Asiri Surgical and Asiri Hospitals Kandy and Matara.

Hormone therapy is used in the treatment of cancers which use hormones to grow, for example breast and prostate cancers. This form of treatment slows or stops the growth of these cancers.

Asiri Health supports cancer patients with Hormone Therapy at Asiri Surgical and Asiri Hospitals Kandy and Matara.

Surgical oncology uses surgery to diagnose, stage and treat cancer. Surgical oncologists may also perform palliative surgeries to help control pain, increase a patient’s comfort level and manage cancer-related symptoms and side effects.

Whether a patient is a candidate for surgery depends on factors such as the type, size, location, grade and stage of the tumor, as well as issues related to the patient’s health, including age, physical fitness and other medical conditions.

Many patients may have cancer surgery combined with other treatments, such as chemotherapy, radiation therapy and/or hormone therapy. Nonsurgical treatments may be administered before or after surgery to prevent cancer growth, metastasis or recurrence.

The Asiri Group works with the most eminent General and Oncology Surgeons in the country and have supported many patients on their recovery journey from cancer.

Also the country’s most sought after Plastic and Cosmetic Surgeons help patients with reconstructive surgery, they may need to return to their regular lives with complete confidence.

Asiri Health supports cancer patients with Surgical Oncology at Asiri Surgical, Asiri Central and Asiri Hospitals Kandy and Matara.

Radiation therapy also known as Radiotherapy uses high doses of targeted radiation to kill or slow the growth of cancer cells.

Advanced methods of radiation treatment are very precise and can destroy the cancer cells, while protecting the surrounding healthy tissue.

In some cases Radiotherapy may be the only treatment used for addressing the cancer, but more often it is used as part of a treatment plan which may include surgery and/or chemotherapy or immunotherapy.

Asiri AOI has Sri Lanka’s most advanced Radiation Therapy Linear Accelerator TrueBeam STX. It is the only such machine in the country. View more

1. External beam radiation

External beam radiation therapy delivers radiation through the use of a large machine called a linear accelerator that precisely aims radiation beams from outside of the body at the cancerous tumor.

2. Brachytherapy or internal radiation therapy

External beam radiation therapy delivers radiation through the use of a large machine called a linear accelerator that precisely aims radiation beams from outside of the body at the cancerous tumor.

About half of all cancer patients receive some type of radiation therapy at some point during the course of their cancer care.

• Three-Dimensional Conformal Radiation Therapy (3D-CRT)

3D-CRT is a commonly used treatment that aims the radiation beam with high precision at the tumor location using advanced computer software and treatment machines.

• The TrueBeam™ STx System
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• Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT)

IMRT is a treatment option that delivers radiation through the use of hundreds of tiny radiation beam-shaping devices, called collimators. Collimators allow the radiation oncologist to target and deliver varying doses of radiation to different areas of the tumor in a meticulous way. The level of precision achieved allows the doctor to spare greater portions of surrounding healthy tissue, leading to fewer side effects.

• Image Guided Radiation Therapy (IGRT)

IGRT is a radiation delivery method used for tumors located in areas of the body that may change between treatments due to organ filling or movements while breathing. In order to account for these changes, IGRT uses repeated imaging scans. These scans are usually conducted in the treatment room just before the patient receives a daily radiation therapy treatment. These images allow the radiation oncologist to adjust the dosage delivered based on any small changes that may have taken place since the time of the patient’s last treatment.

• Rapid Arc

Rapid Arc is a rotational form of IMRT in which daily treatment is shorter than IMRT (Rapid Arc is 4 times faster than IMRT in delivering radiation). The ability of Rapid Arc to spare healthy tissues is better than IMRT. Hence reduced daily treatment time translates into better patient comfort and compliance.

• Electron Beam Therapy

Electron beam therapy allows for the delivery of radiation using electrons to superficial tumors such as skin cancers or benign skin lesions. The electron beam is shaped to fit the target site using custom-designed blocks that are produced for each patient’s treatment.

• Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT)

SBRT is typically selected for small, isolated tumors throughout the body such as cancers in the lung and liver. This treatment option is usually delivered in fewer sessions with higher doses of radiation.

• Stereotactic Radiosurgery (SRS)
• What is Stereotactic Radiosurgery (SRS)?
  Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is a non-invasive treatment technique used primarily to remove or wear away tumors in the brain and for certain other conditions.
  Radiosurgery is most suitable for small, well-defined tumors that can be seen on imaging, such as a CT or an MRI scan. Despite the use of the word "surgery" in its name, radiosurgery does not involve removing the tumor with a surgical knife. Instead, a focused high-intensity beam of radiation is used to target a tumor while minimizing dosage to healthy tissue. First developed in 1949 by the Swedish neurosurgeon Lars Leksell to treat small targets in the brain that were not amenable to conventional surgery, SRS is gaining increasing prominence.


• How does SRS work?
  SRS works by using highly focused beams of powerful radiation to overwhelm cancer cells. Radiation damages the DNA in cancer cells, interrupting their ability to reproduce. When the damaged cancer cells attempt to divide, the tumor shrinks or dies. Normal cells, however, can recover from radiation more easily.
  Similar to external beam radiation therapy, radiosurgery is performed with a linear accelerator, or linac. The linac generates a high-energy radiation beam focused precisely on the tumor. The beam is delivered from many different angles to target each part of the tumor and deliver the prescribed amount of radiation.
  Radiosurgery is sometimes used as a palliative treatment when curing the cancer is not possible.


• What are the benefits of SRS?
  
  • There are no incisions, no stitches and therefore, no post-surgical recovery time.
  • No blood loss, no ICU and no post-surgical complications.
  • Treatment is delivered in only one to five sessions.


• How soon can the patient return to daily routine?
  

  SRS is performed on an outpatient basis, so the patient can usually return to his or her normal activities the day following treatment.

• What are the conditions commonly treated by SRS?
  

  Over the years, SRS has evolved to treat a variety of neurological and other conditions. Some of them include Brain tumor: SRS is often used to treat noncancerous and cancerous brain tumors, including meningioma, chordoma, and chondrosarcoma. May also be used to treat cancers that have spread to the brain from other parts of the body.

  Arteriovenous malformation (AVM): AVMs are abnormal tangles of arteries and veins in your brain. SRS destroys the AVM and causes the affected blood vessels to close off over time.

  Trigeminal neuralgia: A chronic pain disorder of one or both of the trigeminal nerves, which relay sensory information between your brain and areas of your forehead, cheek and lower jaw. SRS treatment for trigeminal neuralgia targets the nerve root to disrupt these pain signals.

  Acoustic neuroma: A benign tumor that develops on the auditory nerves leading from inner ear to the brain. SRS may stop the growth or minimize the size of an acoustic neuroma with little risk of permanent nerve damage.

  Tremors: SRS may be used to treat tremors associated with functional neurological disorders such as Parkinson's disease and essential tremor.

• Other cancers: SRS may be used to treat cancers of the liver, lung and spine.
Asiri Health supports cancer patients with all Advanced External Beam Radiation Treatment modalities at Asiri AOI Cancer Centre.




• Brachytherapy

Brachytherapy, also referred to as internal radiation, is a type of radiation therapy that's used to treat cancer. It allows doctors to deliver higher doses of radiation to more-specific areas of the body, compared with the conventional form of radiation therapy (external beam radiation). Brachytherapy may cause fewer side effects than external beam radiation does, and the overall treatment time is usually shorter with brachytherapy. It involves radiation delivered from a tiny source implanted directly into or next to the tumour. These sources produce gamma-rays, which have the same effect on cancer cells as X-rays. This treatment reduces damage to surrounding healthy tissue, thereby limiting side effects.

There are two main types of brachytherapy: Low Dose Rate (LDR) and High Dose Rate (HDR)

• HDR Brachytherapy

High dose rate brachytherapy is based on similar principles to that of low dose rate brachytherapy, but the delivery is a bit different. Firstly, the radioactive sources are removed from the patient at the end of each treatment session. Secondly, the radiation sources deliver a more intense but short-lived dose of radiation during each of several (usually 1–3) sessions. HDR brachytherapy is used for more high-risk but localised prostate cancers and gynaecological cancers, amongst others. HDR brachytherapy is often given in conjunction with External Beam Radiation Therapy (EBRT).

Stem Cell Transplant (SCT), also known as Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) is a procedure in which a patient receives healthy stem cells to replace diseased stem cells. A patient is treated with high doses of chemotherapy or radiation therapy to prepare the patient’s body for the transplant.

Asiri Central Hospital has the only BMT facility in the private sector that can provide in-house irradiated blood products, apheresis services, radiotherapy & PET scan facilities in order to provide all aspects of treatment required for blood and bone marrow cancers.