Overview
Te Hihiri Whakahauora is the Radiation Oncology Unit at Whangārei Hospital. The service provides radiation therapy for people with cancer across Te Tai Tokerau.
The establishment of this unit means many patients and whānau will be able to receive radiation treatment closer to home, reducing the need to travel outside the region for care.
The service works closely with oncology teams across Northland and with regional cancer services to ensure patients receive coordinated, high-quality care throughout their cancer journey.
Te Hihiri Whakahauora is part of the wider cancer care network across the Northern Region and is linked with specialist oncology services in Auckland.
Radiation Therapy
Radiation therapy is a painless, localised treatment used to treat cancer and some non-cancerous conditions. Radiation therapy machines produce high-energy x-rays that are directed at a specific area of the body identified for treatment.
These x-rays affect the cells within the treatment area and damage their ability to grow and reproduce. Cancer cells are particularly sensitive to this effect, which helps to control or destroy the tumour.
Radiation therapy may be used to cure cancer, to control the growth of cancer, or to relieve symptoms such as pain or bleeding.
During treatment you do not feel the radiation itself, although the machine may make a quiet buzzing sound while it is operating.
Radiation therapy is usually delivered over several treatment sessions across a number of days or weeks, depending on the type of cancer being treated.