An Iodine 131 Therapy Charter for the treatment of persons suffering from thyroid cancer or a hyperactive thyroid was yesterday launched at the Sir Paul Boffa Hospital, outlining the service provided and the standards that were being aimed at.

Iodine 131 therapy, or radioactive iodine therapy, is offered to patients with a hyperactive thyroid, or cancer of the thyroid, who are treated at the Radio-Isotope Unit at Sir Paul Boffa Hospital.

Radioactive sources are either swallowed, injected, or inserted into a patient, who must then wait for the levels of radioactivity in their body to drop before leaving the hospital.

The chairman of the Oncology Department at the hospital, Stephen Brincat, said thyroid cancer patients were previously treated overseas until the necessary equipment and facilities were set up in Malta.

Overseas treatment meant huge expenses to families and the government, as well as the inconvenience of having to travel, the impossibility of communication and of doctors keeping a constant eye on their patients.

The first thyroid cancer patient was treated in Malta five years ago, while those suffering from a hyperactive thyroid were treated in "shabby conditions".

Dr Brincat said that, every year, between 20 and 30 thyroid cancer patients and around 60 patients suffering from a hyperactive thyroid were treated at the unit and on an out-patients basis respectively.

He maintained that, following the Chernobyl accident in 1986, the incidence of thyroid cancer in Malta has risen. The increment was registered eight years later, although there were no statistics to prove the connection with Chernobyl.

The charter formalises the practice offered at the unit, providing guidelines, as well as information on the conditions, the team of the radioiodine therapy section, and the patient`s stay in hospital.

Patients are cared for in a single room to reduce the spread of radioiodine, which is used for their treatment. They remain in hospital between three to six days to allow the level of radioactivity in their bodies to drop.

The charter declares in writing the commitment to take care of patients and provide them with all that is necessary, including a room that is equipped with the required facilities. It also declares the commitment to keep in contact with the patient 24 hours a day.

The idea is for charters to be drawn up for other sections of the Oncology Department.