By Doris Obinna
As part of its commitment to provide advanced medical care to Nigerians and eliminating the need for medical tourism, Loveworld Medical Centre (LMC), has introduced nuclear medicine that uses radioactive tracers that access bodily functions, diagnose and treat diseases.
The Centre at its symposium on Radionuclide Therapy and Oncology, held at the weekend in Lagos, disclosed that its commitment to excellence, coupled with relentless pursuit of innovation, has propelled the team with its mission to provide world-class healthcare services to the community and beyond.
Speaking at the international symposium with theme: “Evolving Role of Nuclear Medicine and Personalised and Precision Medicine,” Chief Operating Officer, LMC, Dr. Anthony Oseghale, said, “nuclear medicine is our way of opening new opportunities for advanced medical care and with the installation and commissioning of our Gamma Camera mark a significant milestone, and we eagerly anticipate the benefits this technology will bring to our patients.
“As a multi-specialist hospital, we are poised to revolutionise the global healthcare landscape. Our foundation is built on the vision of Rev. Chris Oyakhilome and our principles of exceptionalism, expansionism, and perfectionism.
The LMC was inaugurated by the former Liberian President, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, and Rev. Chris Oyakhilome in December 2023, following extensive preparations to ensure flawless operations before opening our doors to patients in January 2024.
“Our mission is to lead the healthcare industry with holistic, accessible, and best-in-class services. We are committed to delivering exceptional, compassionate care through innovation and technology, guided by our core values of excellence, teamwork, accountability, compassion, and trust. Our brand promise, ‘We will make you happy,’ is a commitment we strive to fulfill with every interaction, as reflected in the positive feedback from our patients.
“The LMC boasts an 80-bed inpatient capacity, with a majority of single rooms ensuring privacy. Our executive wing caters to high-profile patients, and our state-of-the-art facilities include a General Outpatient Department, emergency ambulance services, obstetrics and gynecology, fertility services, pediatrics, minimally invasive surgeries, dialysis services, intensive care unit (ICU) and high dependency unit (HDU), radiology, and top-notch laboratory investigations.
“We provide affordable, high-quality care, partnering with several health maintenance organisations (HMOs) to extend our services to those in need and are proud to offer world-class medical services right here in Lagos, eliminating the need for medical tourism,” he added.
At her opening address, Executive Chairman, LMC, Dr Deola Phillips, said the multi-specialist hospital was born out of the vision of its Founder, the President of Loveworld Inc, Rev Chris Oyakhilome.
“His divine compassion that is so famously expressed through his healing ministry, which spans many decades and finds expression in the globally renowned Healing School, with its popular Healing Streams Live Healing Services, has also extended the reach to providing avenues of medical care to so many through community clinics and now advanced medical care in the LMC.
“In the area of radionuclide therapy, we are poised to make significant strides. This cutting-edge treatment modality offers renewed hope to patients battling various forms of cancer, harnessing the power of radioactive isotopes to target and destroy cancerous or diseased cells with unprecedented precision.”
She reiterated that the team of dedicated nuclear medicine physicians, radiologists, and medical physicists are on hand to provide clinical services with refined techniques, ensuring optimal outcomes for our patients.
“From the state-of-the-art diagnostic imaging to personalized treatment plans across multiple specialties, we strive to tailor each patient’s journey to their unique medical needs. We remain steadfast in our commitment to innovate and expand our capabilities to meet the evolving healthcare needs of our diverse patient population, ensuring that our community receives comprehensive and compassionate care close to home in line with our mantra; advanced trusted, wholesome, care.”
Also, Clinical Director, LMC, Dr. Emeka Eze, stressing the impact on Nigeria’s health sector, said the technology is innovative, cost-effective and free of side effects.
Explaining further, Eze said it targets only damaged cells, for example, if we are treating people with what is known as chemotherapy; you know the kind of side effects because it attacks all fast-growing cells at the same time; but this one only goes for cells that are inflamed, or cells that are mitotic.
“With this technology, it just goes to the local area where the problem is and deals with it. So much cheaper, fewer side effects, minimal hospital stay, long resolution.”
While affirming that nuclear medicine helps in the treatment of thyroid disease, cancers, arthritis, among other ailments, he said: “Right now, it has been very well tried with prostate cancer and it’s very, very good. It treats arthritis, knee problems, among others.”
On her part, Head of Department, Nuclear Medicine, Loveworld Medical Centre, Dr Masha Maharaj, added: “Even though we may have availability of systems in various countries, it is yet to be fully established; meaning our clinical work is not yet fully established and this is basically the reason for the symposium to showcased the clinical work that nuclear medicine entails. We have been able to treat stage four cancer, we’re not just able to diagnose disease but also treat disease.
“Nuclear medicine is a game changer, it improves management, and it shows good results and is also non invasive. We believe that our patients in Nigeria are going to be impacted. The availability of it will also help reduce medical tourism especially for patients seeking medical solutions for cancers and its various types.”