Netcare cancer care services

Our nine dedicated oncology centres across South Africa offer a range of radiation treatments as well as chemotherapy. Treatment is provided by multi-disciplinary teams including radiologists, surgeons, oncologists, medical physicists, pathologists, nurses and radiation therapists who work closely together to develop an individual treatment plan for each patient.

In addition, haematology services including bone marrow transplants are offered at five Netcare hospitals, with the largest facility of its kind in Africa being situated at Netcare Pretoria East Hospital. Robotic-assisted surgery for prostate, bladder and kidney cancer are available at three Netcare hospitals.

Netcare adopted the South African Oncology Consortium’s (SAOC) treatment protocols.

In support of its objective, the SAOC has developed a ‘tiered’ oncology treatment guideline in which chemotherapy and radiation therapy options are tailored to meet the financial constraints of the individual patient’s healthcare insurance benefits. 

This is supported by a comprehensive peer-to-peer and utilisation review programme.

Radiation therapy

The oncology centres at Netcare hospitals use the most advanced radiation technology to provide optimal treatment for different types of cancers whilst minimising the effect on surrounding normal organs and tissue.

An individual treatment plan is developed for each patient by a multi-disciplinary team comprised of a radiation oncologist, medical physicist and radiation therapists who work closely together to ensure the most appropriate treatment option is selected for the patient. The process includes evaluating the patient, determining the appropriate therapy or combination of therapies, the area to be treated, the dose of radiation to be delivered, and the most appropriate treatment option or options.

Gamma Knife Icon radiosurgery

The Gamma Knife Icon is the sixth generation of the Leksell Gamma Knife system. The technology with its microsurgery capabilities is used in the treatment of selected malignant and benign brain, head and neck tumours, vascular malformations in the brain as well as functional disorders. Gamma Knife Icon is the most precise radiosurgery device on the market internationally, enabling the treatment of virtually any target in the brain with ultra-high precision. The technology uses Gamma rays from a cobalt source to deliver powerful doses of precision-targeted radiation that acts as a surgeon’s ‘scalpel’. This greatly reduces many of the risks associated with traditional cranial surgery as it consistently limit radiation doses to healthy tissue. Read more

External beam radiation therapy

Radiotherapy entails the treatment of lesions with ionising radiation. In the case of external beam radiotherapy, high energy x-rays or electrons are generated outside the body, usually by a linear accelerator machine, and these high energy beams are targeted at the tumour site where they deposit their energy within the body to destroy cancer or abnormal cells.

Rapid arc

with rapid arc the treatment is delivered with a single 360 degree rotation around the patient. this significantly shortens the treatment time, compared to normal treatment time, which improves patient comfort as the time they spend on the treatment couch is much shorter. during a 360◦ rotation a precise sculpted 3-d distribution is delivered. this is made possible by a treatment planning algorithm that simultaneously changes three parameters during treatment, namely the rotation speed of the gantry, the shape of the treatment aperture by using multi-leave collimator, and the dose delivery.

Stereotactic irradiation

Stereotactic irradiation is the external beam radiation technique which currently offers the highest level of precision. High dose radiation can be delivered to small lesions in the brain (intracranial) or the rest of the body (extracranial), with a position accuracy of 1mm.

Evidence-based research is conducted at the oncology centres where this treatment option is offered, and outcomes are measured for up to five years.

Chemotherapy (medical oncology)

Chemotherapy involves the treatment of cancer with chemical agents. It is administered to destroy malignant (cancer) cells, or to retard their growth. A combination of agents – sometimes referred to as a cocktail - is often used to attack malignant cells in a variety of ways. Chemotherapy can be administered on either an inpatient or on an outpatient basis. Chemotherapy can also be used on its own in treatment, or in conjunction with radiation therapy.

Netcare managed chemotherapy facilities and services are offered at Netcare Garden City, Netcare Christiaan Barnard Memorial hospital, Netcare Milpark hospital, Netcare Pinehaven hospital, Netcare waterfall City hospitals as well as at UCT Private Academic Hospital.

• Most Netcare hospitals offer chemotherapy service.

Surgical cancer treatments

Robotic-assisted prostate, bladder and kidney surgery

Robotic-assisted surgery is internationally regarded as the surgical gold standard in the treatment of localised prostate cancer, and has become the treatment of choice around the world. Robotic-assisted surgery is also used for the treatment of bladder and kidney cancers.

The da Vinci robotic technology installed at three Netcare hospitals enables surgeons trained in the system to visualise the prostate as well as the surrounding tissue and neurovascular bundles three-dimensionally in superior high definition and the hand controls.  

The technology gives surgeons finer hand control, making it possible for them to perform highly intricate, minimally invasive prostatectomies (the surgical removal of the prostate gland) with more precision. This means that the risk of leaving any cancerous tissue behind or damaging the surrounding nerves that control erectile function and urinary continence is minimised, resulting in a faster return to normal erectile function and improved outcomes in urinary continence.

Other benefits of robotic-assisted prostate surgery are a reduced need for blood transfusion, less post-operative pain, less risk of wound infection, a shorter hospital stay and faster recovery.

• Netcare Christiaan Barnard Hospital in Cape Town, Western Cape, Netcare Greenacres Hospital in Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape and Netcare Waterfall City Hospital in Midrand, Gauteng offer da Vinci robotic-assisted surgery.

Stem cell treatment

Stem Cell Therapy Plus aims to awaken dormant cells within the human body, thereby stimulating the growth and function of existing tissue and repairing or regenerating old and malfunctioning cells. Stem Cell Therapy Plus offers what vitamins, minerals and other conventional or natural treatments cannot, namely to provide the exact components necessary for injured or diseased tissue to heal and regenerate.

Netcare stem cell treatment is offered at the following Netcare hospitals:

• Gauteng: Netcare Garden City, Netcare Pretoria East and Netcare Unitas hospitals
• Western Cape: Netcare Kuils River and UCT Private Academic hospitals

Paediatric cancer care services

Paediatric oncology is the field of medicine concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of cancer in children. The most common cancers in children are (childhood) leukemia, brain tumours and lymphomas.

• Netcare Clinton and Netcare Unitas hospitals in Gauteng offer specialised paediatric oncology. Radiation therapy for paediatric cancer treatment is offered at Netcare Clinton, Netcare Olivedale, Netcare Milpark, Netcare Pinetown, Netcare Unitas hospitals in Gauteng, Netcare Parklands Hospital and the cancer care centre in KwaZulu-Natal, and Netcare N1 City and Netcare Christiaan Barnard Memorial hospitals in the Western Cape. A number of Netcare hospitals provide chemotherapy for children requiring this type of treatment.
• Netcare Unitas, Netcare Garden City, Netcare Pretoria East and UCT Private Academic hospitals have paediatric oncology wards and provide haematology services.

Supportive care

Supportive care is care given to improve the quality of life of patients and their families who are facing the problems associated with a life-threatening illness, from diagnosis onwards. Supportive care is an approach to care that addresses the person as whole, not just their disease. It is not just concerned with pain and physical symptoms but with psychosocial, emotional and spiritual problems as well. Whilst the definition of supportive care is complex, we now understand it to involve all life-limiting illness which includes cancer.

The physical and emotional effects of cancer and its treatment differ from person to person. Supportive care can address a broad range of issues, integrating an individual’s specific needs into their care. The goal is to improve quality of life for both the patient and their family. Quality of life will mean different things to all of us, but may include:

• Being comfortable and pain-free.
• Being able to socialise and spend time with loved ones.
• Being independent as possible.
• Not feeling a burden on others
• Feeling emotional well.

Supportive care is appropriate at any age and at any stage of illness and can be provided along with curative treatment.

The supportive care team:
Supportive care is usually provided by supportive care doctors and nurses who have received special training and/ or certification in supportive care. They provide holistic care to the patient and family/caregiver focusing on the palliative, emotional, social and spiritual issues cancer patients may face during their cancer journey. The supportive care team works in conjunction with the primary treating doctor, with in most cases is the oncologist.
Supportive care doctors and nurses work as part of an inter-disciplinary team that may include dieticians, pharmacists, physiotherapists, psychologists, counsellors, volunteers and social workers.

Patient navigation

In the same way that no two fingerprints are the same, two people may have the same cancer diagnosis but they will respond completely differently and require different approaches to care.
Netcare’s approach to cancer care is designed with this in min. not the other way round.
Netcare will work closely with all those involved in the cancer care continuum to ensure that navigators and navigation as service, supports each cancer patient in a positive way.

• A navigator is a registered nurse with experience in oncology, whose key task is to promote the timely movement of an individual patient through an often complex healthcare continuum.
• The navigation service is offered free of charge to any patient who needs assistance in navigating through their cancer journey.
• The navigator serves as source of clinical and complementary information throughout the patients cancer journey, and as a guide to help patients and their families understand the next steps at each point along their journey.
• The navigator also helps coordinate the patient care through the healthcare system i.e. help in setting up appointments, transport etc.
• Navigation is done in partnership with the treating doctor and his/her team, so that it integrates a fragmented healthcare system for an individual cancer patient.
• Navigation aims to eliminate barriers of care, ensure timeous delivery thereof, and enhance satisfaction and support amongst patients, their families, referring doctors and health teams.