Päijät-Häme Radiation Therapy Unit

​Street address
Päijät-Häme Radiation Therapy Unit
Keskussairaalankatu 7, 1st floor (k1), wing V, Lahti
 
Mailing address
HUS, Päijät-Häme Radiation Therapy Unit
Keskussairaalankatu 7
15850 Lahti
 
Contact information
Office: 03 819 4011
Fax: 03 819 4660
 
Appointment booking: 044 440 6012, 12:00–14:00 (Mon–Fri)
Referrals: 03 819 4011 (9:00–14:00)
 
Open on weekdays 7:30–15:30.
 
Päijät-Häme Radiation Therapy Unit is part of Comprehensive Cancer Center and it is located in Lahti. The unit has two linear accelerators used in external radiation therapy, and a CT scan device. The patients are adults and live mainly in the Päijät-Häme region. Patients are referred to radiation therapy after an evaluation by an oncologist.

The radiation therapy unit may administer  

• modern technique conformal image-guided radiation therapy
• radiation with deep inspiration breath hold technique
• therapies requiring special technology and brachytherapies are centered in the Comprehensive Cancer Center’s Radiation Therapy Ward in Helsinki.

In some cases of cancer, it is possible to improve the effect of radiation therapy by simultaneously administering cytostatics. The outpatient clinic for Cancer and Blood diseases, located in the Central Hospital of Päijät-Hämeen Hyvinvointikuntayhtymä (PHHYKY), 2nd floor, k2, is responsible for implementing the cytostatic treatment.

The planning of a patient’s radiation therapy usually includes:

• a doctor’s appointment
• manufacturing an individual positioning device (depending on the treated area)
• a CT scan and planning of the radiation dose

Radiation therapy is always individually planned for each patient and this is why the amount of treatment times, duration, and the type of device among other matters vary from patient to patient. The first radiation therapy is usually given within 1–2 weeks from the first doctor’s appointment. One radiation therapy appointment including all the preparations lasts 10–20 minutes on average. Radiation therapy is not visible nor can the patient feel it, and it does not cause harm to the patient’s loved ones.

Annually, approximately 700 patients visit the radiation therapy unit and we organize ca. 11,500 treatment appointments. We have 45–65 patients daily and the majority of them are in outpatient care. The duration of a patient’s radiation therapy varies from a single appointment to seven weeks. Majority of the cancers we treat are breast and prostate cancers.

Administering radiation therapy requires multiprofessional co-operation from doctors, medical physicists, radiographers, nurses, and secretaries.