U.S. and Guatemalan healthcare institutions are collaborating to bring radiation therapy services to more cancer patients in Guatemala.
The radiation oncology department and Global Health Center at Washington University in St. Louis is partnering with Liga Nacional Contra el Cáncer/Instituto Nacional de Cancerologia (LIGA/INCAN) in Guatemala City on the initiative. Approximately 25% of all cancer patients in Guatemala are cared for at LIGA/INCAN, which is the country's only comprehensive cancer treatment center for the poor and underserved.
The university and LIGA/INCAN are in the process of buying and installing a Halcyon radiation therapy system from Varian Medical Systems at the institute, so patients can receive the same treatments for lung, prostate, breast, head and neck, and other forms of cancer that are available in the U.S.
Funding assistance includes a grant from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)/American Schools and Hospitals Abroad.
