Nearly 500 cancer patients are likely to die each year in NSW through the state government’s “disregard” for its own targets for radiotherapy access, experts say.
Despite two decades of warnings that patients were missing out on much needed radiotherapy, new research shows a quarter of patients who should have access are still missing out.
Since 1991, the state government’s own official radiotherapy plans have stated their aim to treat 50-52% of cancer patients with radiotherapy.
But each year between 1999 and 2008, no more than 38% of cancer patients gained access to radiotherapy, according to research published in the Journal of Medical Imaging and Radiation Oncology.
The study also showed the number of radiation therapists in the state almost doubled in the...
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