Healthcare in Singapore

Doctors at the National University Hospital claim to have become the first in Southeast Asia to treat prostate, cervical and breast cancers using High-dose-rate (HDR) Brachytherapy.

Coupled with 3-D imaging using CT scans and MRIs, the result is a faster and safer option than conventional radiation therapy.

External beam radiotherapy is currently the conventional option for treating higher stage prostate cancer.

But by combining that with HDR Brachytherapy, total treatment time will be cut by nearly half, from eight and a half weeks, to about five weeks.

In HDR Brachytherapy, tiny plastic tubes are first inserted into tumour.

They are then hooked up to a machine that delivers very intense and precise doses of radiation.

CT scans and MRIs allow doctors to map out the cancerous area clearly.

Using a CT scan, doctors will be able to locate the tumour and minimise damage to the surrounding tissue.

So for prostate cancer for example, doctors can decrease the high radiation doses to the bladder and rectum by about 90 per cent, while increasing the total dose to the prostate by 50 per cent.

3-D imaging also increases the accuracy in treating cervical cancer, where brachytherapy is already standard practice.

The procedure can also be used to treat selected early stage breast cancers, or about four in 10 patients.

This is most effective for patients over 50 years of age, with tumours less than 3cm in size, which is completely removed during surgery and where cancerous cells have not spread to the lymph nodes.

Breast brachytherapy can cost up to about S$13,000 ( approx US $10,000), compared to about S$7,000 ( approx $5,000) for standard treatments.

..relative to our population size.

“A Potential Net Migration Index (PNMI) score is the estimated number of adults who would like to move permanently out of a country if the opportunity arose, subtracted from the estimated number who would like to move into it, as a proportion of the total adult population.

The Potential Net Migration Index (PNMI) is measured on a scale of -100 (meaning the total adult population of the country would leave) to infinity (meaning the potential inflow of adult population to the country is unlimited and depends on the number of adults who want to move in from around the world).”

Gallup

…from the Country with the Lowest Child Mortality Rate in the World.

Currency in US dollars

If you want to know which Singapore hospital is performing this procedure, go HERE.

Currency in US dollars

If you want to know which Singapore hospital is performing this procedure, go HERE.

Currency in US dollars

If you want to know which Singapore hospital is performing this procedure, go HERE.

Currency in US dollars

If you want to know which Singapore hospital is performing this procedure, go HERE.

by the American Nurses Credentialing Centre (ANCC), a subsidiary of the American Nurses Association.

The American-based programme selects applicants according to their ability to attract and retain professional nurses. It also looks at patient outcomes and patient satisfaction.

Currency in US dollars

If you want to know which Singapore hospital is performing this procedure, go HERE.

As recorded in the Registry

From Singapore Medical Council Annual Report 2009