Wednesday, July 30, 2008 A milestone for nuclear medicine
NORTHERN Mindanao's first nuclear medicine unit has already breached the Big 100 -- now counting a growing stream of satisfied patients needing Swiss precision diagnostics and painless treatment on various ailments.
"We breached the 100 mark last July 8, and since then, the influx of patients has been very encouraging," says Dr. Alvin P. Quiñon, head of the Nuclear Medicine Department of the Cagayan de Oro Medical Center.
"On top of that number accounting for diagnostics, over 30 patients has also availed of treatment using Radioactive Iodine Therapy," Dr. Quiñon adds.
The ailments treated in the center include Hyperthyroidism, whose symptoms can include weight loss, chest pain, rapid heart rate and high blood pressure; Thyroid Cancer; and Rheumatoid arthritis.
"Through the use of radiopharmaceuticals, we can address both pain and the treatment of Rheumatoid arthritis. In this case, the radioactive dose is injected to the affected joint itself," Dr. Quiñon says.
This mode of treatment is an alternative to surgical procedure, which is more costly. Initially, Dr. Quiñon says his department is offering the procedure by cluster so as to make it affordable to local patients.
Using the sophisticated Millennium MPR, which greatly helps eliminate guesswork and potentially unnecessary surgery, COMC's Nuclear Med offers the following diagnostic procedures:
* Nuclear Stress Exam -- A three to four hour exam, which shows detailed pictures of the heart under stress and at rest. Your physician can physiologically locate blocked or narrowed arteries to the heart and make an accurate diagnosis of its function.
* Gated Blood Pool Study -- Evaluates the wall motion of the heart.
* Bone Scan -- Detects and evaluates trauma, arthritis, and cancer of the bones.
* Liver/Spleen Study -- Provides an accurate assessment of liver disease and detection of liver/spleen lesions.
* Hepatobiliary Study -- Evaluates the canals of the Gallbladder and detects blockage.
* Renal Scintigraphy -- Evaluation of renal function and blood flow, obstructive uropathy and assessment of the function of renal transplant.
* Thyroid Scintigraphy -- Asses thyroid size, evaluates of nodule functionality and determines the of cause of hypo/hyperthyroidism.
* Tumor Imaging and therapy -- Utilizes monoclonal antibodies to detect primary cancer site and radioactive property to eliminate the malignant cells.
COMC's Nuclear Med is located at the first floor of the Diagnostic Imaging Bldg. It can be reached through Tel. no. 711875 local 423. (Press release)
