By Ann Ngbea
The Benue State Commissioner for Health and Human Services, Dr Joseph Ngbea has promised to inform Governor Samuel Ortom of the importance of having a radiotherapy unit at the Benue State University Teaching Hospital (BSUTH), Makurdi, to aid in the treatment of cancer.
The commissioner, who made this known when he visited the National Hospital (NHA), Abuja recently, where he inspected the Radiotherapy Centre of the hospital, stated that the presence of the radiotherapy unit in the state would enhance accessibility for the people of Benue State.
In his remark, the Head of Radiation-Oncology Department at the hospital, Dr Chinedu Aruah, who took the commissioner round the facility, said 30 percent of the patients who seek radiotherapy services at NHA are from Benue State.
Another consultant at the hospital, Dr Abubakar Bello, explained that any good radiotherapy centre is made up of Four (4) important units which include: mold room; CT stimulator; treatment planning system; and linear accelerator, adding that each of the units is important in the effective service delivery of the centre.
Radiation therapy which is a practice in radiation oncology that involves the use of ionizing radiation, alongside imaging modalities is used to treat cancers.
