Nearly 900 cancer patients await radiotherapy at Ho Chi Minh City hospital

Lam Duc Hoang, head of the hospital’s Head and Neck Radiation Oncology Department, said waiting times for radiation treatment currently range from four to eight weeks, depending on the type of cancer.

Patients with cervical cancer typically wait between two and four weeks, while those with head and neck cancers face waiting periods of four to eight weeks.

Breast cancer patients experience the longest delays, often waiting six to eight weeks before beginning treatment.

The hospital operates 11 radiation therapy machines, all running at full capacity.

Treatments are conducted across three daily shifts from 5:00 am to 11:00 pm.

Each day, the facility provides radiation therapy to approximately 700 to 800 patient visits.

However, a typical cancer patient requires between 15 and 35 treatment sessions, placing significant pressure on the system.

Hoang said several factors have contributed to the prolonged waiting times.

Many patients prefer to remain on the waiting list at Ho Chi Minh City Oncology Hospital despite being advised to seek treatment at provincial general hospitals equipped with radiation therapy services.

Another challenge is the age of the hospital’s equipment. Most radiation therapy machines were installed more than 15 years ago and require costly maintenance.

While plans to replace older equipment have been approved, the hospital cannot further increase treatment capacity or extend operating hours until new machines are installed.

Medical experts generally consider a radiation therapy waiting period of four to six weeks acceptable.

Delays exceeding eight weeks may negatively affect treatment outcomes, particularly for cancers that progress rapidly.

Hoang cited a previous case involving a patient with head and neck cancer whose post-surgical radiation treatment was delayed because the surgical wound healed slowly. The disease reportedly recurred just six weeks later.

To reduce waiting times, the hospital has implemented several measures.

These include expanding after-hours radiation therapy services, accelerating the procurement for newly approved radiation machines, as well as adopting short-course radiation therapy protocols and brachytherapy, a form of internal radiation treatment.

In selected cases, physicians have begun using the ‘Quad Shot’ protocol, which delivers treatment over two weekend days.

The hospitals also encouraged some patients to transfer to the hospital’s first facility to ease congestion at the second campus.

However, many patients still opt for the second facility, often because they prefer to receive treatment at the newer location, the doctor said.