Ceylinco Healthcare doubles capacity to administer radioactive Iodine treatment

Ceylinco Healthcare Services Ltd. (CHSL), which operates two of the most advanced radiation therapy centres in the country, has doubled its capacity to administer Radioactive Iodine (RAI) treatment to patients afflicted with thyroid cancer and thyrotoxicosis, a condition caused by an excess of thyroid hormone in the body. 

Following the construction of a new delay tank system that collects waste water, the facility is now able to offer Radioactive Iodine treatments on Wednesdays and Saturdays, treating up to eight patients a week, from the four patients it could treat per week previously. 

RAI treatment, the most effective and curative treatment for thyroid cancer is administered by releasing an iodine electron, or beta particle, which creates its therapeutic action. The treatment is based on the fact that the thyroid actively accumulates iodine, which it then uses to produce thyroid hormones required for normal bodily functions. 

Given as a capsule or dissolved in water, the RAI is absorbed quickly by the stomach and intestines. It is then carried in the bloodstream to the thyroid and taken up by the gland. Thereafter the RAI disrupts the function of some of the thyroid cells – the more radioactive iodine, the more cells that cease to function. This results in excessive amounts of thyroid hormones ceasing to be produced and the symptoms of hyperthyroidism beginning to disappear. 

Notably, the iodine capsules used at the Ceylinco Radiation Treatment Centre are of high European quality.

The RAI treatments are administered in doses of 30 millicurie (mCi), 100mCi, 150mCi and 200mCi for thyroid cancer, and in doses of 10mCi, 15mCi, 20mCi and 25mCi for thyrotoxicosis.

Ceylinco Healthcare Centre has administered RAI treatment to more than 2,250 patients since 2007. The Centre has four luxury rooms equipped with AC, Cable TV, and attached bathrooms exclusively for iodine treatment patients who are required to stay overnight at the facility for three days. These rooms adhere to international standards and are on par with similar facilities in Singapore. 

For over a decade, CHSL, a subsidiary of Ceylinco Life, has been an affordable, private cancer treatment centre in the country, and has successfully administered radiation therapy to over 5,000 patients. Besides two radiation treatment units – the Ceylinco Radiation Treatment Centre and the Ceylinco TomoTherapy Centre, Ceylinco Healthcare Services owns and operates the Ceylinco Diabetes Centre, offering comprehensive screening, diagnostic services and medical care.