Minister of Health Dr.Tawfiq Al-Rabeeah yesterday visited the site of the Proton Center in King Fahad Medical City and witnessed the readiness of the operation of the accelerator for the treatment of proctoneal tumors (Cyclotron), which was installed last month in the Medical City in cooperation with the Saudi Particle Therapy Center as the first ranked in the Middle East, in the presence of Sheikh Abdul Mohsen Muhaisen Board Chairman Management of the Saudi Particle Therapy Center.
He said “The installation and operation of the nuclear accelerator is an extension of the Ministry of Health’s agreement to establish the National Cancer Treatment Center in King Fahad Medical City,” said Mahmoud bin Abdul Jabbar Al Yamani, Chief Executive Officer of King Fahad Medical City. He added that it is part of the ministry’s strategy to adopt investment programs financed by the sector In order to serve the patient and achieve the aspirations of the citizen to receive advanced treatment and application of the strategy of health care in the Kingdom.
Al-Yamani said that the technology of accelerating the protons to accelerate the protons to the energy of 250 million electron volts and then put them directly on the tumors to destroy the cancer cells in high precision to maintain the healthy organs adjacent to the tumor, pointing out that the project transfer and resettlement of treatment technology Proton is one of the largest Proton treatment projects at the level. It is also one of the first partnership projects between the private sector and the Ministry of Health, which contributes to relieving the patient and his companions when traveling to receive Proton radiation therapy in America or Germany.
Proton therapy is one of the most advanced techniques for treating tumors. The proton is accelerated in a cyclotron. This beam is then placed on the tumor site to kill the cancerous cells and preserve the healthy cells next to the tumor. This type of treatment reduces the usual complications In traditional radiation therapy that uses x-ray in the treatment of tumors and this type of radiation therapy is appropriate in cases of child cancer, where the preservation of healthy cells a therapeutic priority while at the same time the doctor to use a high dose (higher than those can be aware In the case of loyalty X-ray therapy), so this high-dose benefit, God willing, to increase the chances of recovery from the disease. For his part, Mushabbab Al-Asiri, Executive Director of Medical Affairs in the city, said that the project contributes to the transfer and resettlement of Proton radiation therapy in the Kingdom and the countries of the region, relieves the patient’s distress when traveling, and saves the costs of treatment abroad. The cost of treating the patient at this center is less than the cost of treatment abroad. Of the half, explaining that it achieves the vision of the Kingdom of 2030 in partnership between the private sector and the public.