The Ministry of Health has authorised the installation of the equipment for the Radiotherapy Unit in Faro. This authorisation, signed on April 9 by the Minister of Health, Dr. Luís Filipe Pereira, will make the Algarve region almost self-sufficient in the treatment of tumours.
Work on the unit began in 2001, thanks to the efforts of the Algarve Oncological Association and the support of all the Câmaras Municipais do Algarve (AMAL). It is now in an advanced stage of construction.
The new Radiotherapy Unit in the Algarve means that, by the end of this year, oncology patients will be able to be treated near their home instead of having to travel to Lisbon or even, in some cases, not being treated at all. The Secretary of Health, Dr. Carlos Martins, confirmed that the unit will end, “the financial, psychological and social inconvenience of travelling to Lisbon for treatment”.
It is presumed that, of 1,400 cases of cancer diagnosed every year in the Algarve, 60 per cent will be treated by this new unit.
