The Ceylinco Healthcare Centre’s Radiation Treatment Unit had dispensed over 1,000 radiation treatments to cancer patients by the end of May 2009, Sri Lanka’s only state-of-the-art private radiation treatment facility said this week.

These treatments have resulted in a significant saving of foreign exchange and by the end of May 2009 an estimated Rs 261 million (US $ 2.27 million) has been saved on medical treatment excluding the cost of air travel and accommodation that would have been incurred if these treatments were done overseas, the unit said.

"Receiving radiation treatment in one’s own country also eliminates the stress of travel and provides the important additional benefit of having one’s loved ones near," said Dr. Sarath Abeykoon, Senior Oncologist and Medical Director at the Ceylinco Healthcare Centre.

IMRT is one of the safest and most advanced radiation therapy techniques for the treatment of many forms of cancer. It treats the tumor with precision, thereby reducing harm to the non-cancerous cells. This treatment enables radiation oncologist to deliver tightly conforming high doses of radiation directly to the tumor irrespective of its shape.