Specialist clinics providing access to the latest advances in cancer treatment

For such an effective cancer therapy, our patients find their course of one or more ECT treatments surprisingly easy to cope with. Throughout your treatment session, which lasts between one and three hours, you will be relaxed and comfortable on a treatment bed. Your doctor can pause the treatment at any time during your session, if you require a short break. For maximum effect, each ECT therapy session needs to be carried out several days after the previous ECT treatment.

There are two treatment methods depending on the type and location of the cancer:

Surface Cancers Eg. Skin, Head, Facial And Neck
Skin cancers as well as head, facial and neck tumours which are just below the surface of the skin are the easiest to treat with ECT, and respond very quickly. For these tumours, the skin surrounding the cancer is de-sensitised with a mild anaesthetic skin cream.

Next, one or more pairs of platinum needles are carefully inserted into the tumour. These are then connected to the ECT machine, where the computer monitored low-voltage current passes from the positive (anode) needle(s) to the negative (cathode) needle(s). The tumour is gently destroyed during the treatment, and the site of the tumour will soon heal.

Internal Cancers Eg. Prostate, Lung
For tumours located within the body, self-adhesive electrode pads (similar in appearence to a large sticking plaster) are applied to the skin. One will be placed on the patient's chest or abdomen above the location of the tumour, and another will be placed on the patient's back, below the location of the tumour.

These electrode pads are then connected to the ECT machine, and the computer monitored low-voltage current passes from one pad, through the tumour to the other pad. The current destroys the tumour, but has absolutely no effect on healthy tissue.