The new Radiotherapy Machine used by Cancer patients has broken down, the Uganda Cancer Institute has said.
“The cancer institute is experiencing technical glitch,” Dr. Jackson Orem, the Executive Director at Uganda Cancer Institute said in a statement dated 30th August, 2018.
He added: “The computer system that operates the machine is currently showing error and this requires the machine to be stopped to have the problem rectified. This will be fixed in less than a week’s time so that patients resume having radiotherapy treatment.”
Orem added that they have already contacted the manufacturer and an engineer will be flying in the country to rectify the error.
“The need to rectify the error is aimed at ensuring safety of the patients an also protecting the machine from potential damage,” he said, adding that a linear accelerator, a high tech machine and another cobalt 60machine from India are expected in the country four months from now.
He said there are currently 50 patients scheduled to receive treatment.
“Given that the machine handles over 150 patients per day, the current number on waiting list will be handled in one day once the machine resumes normal operations,” Orem said.
It is worth noting that over two years ago, the old Cancer machine at Uganda Cancer Institute broke down, making treatment of cancer patients in Uganda increasingly become painful as the poor who wouldn’t afford to go abroad for better treatment were rotting away.
