Radiotherapy
At the new Bon Secours Cork Cancer Centre (BSCCC) we provide personalised, patient-centred integrated care in comfortable surroundings offering the best medical services.
'The radiotherapy department at the Bon Secours Hospital which is a joint venture run in partnership with the University of Pittsburgh Medical Centre is running as normal during the Covid-19 emergency measures. New protocols and procedures are in place to maximise the safety of patients and staff. New patients continue to be seen using droplet isolation and social distancing precautions. All follow-up clinics are undertaken via telephone or virtual consultation. Brachytherapy is not proceeding at this time owing to the unavailability of seeds. Should you have any queries or concerns in relation to radiotherapy patients, either current, past or future, please don't hesitate to contact Dr Paul Kelly on email via kellyp6@upmc.ie'
The Bon Secours Radiotherapy Centre, in partnership with the UPMC Hillman Cancer Centre is located on the ground floor of the Bon Secours Cork Cancer Centre.
Please click on the link to take a virtual tour of our new facilities - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NAhCMRS9aCxOsaODQrKqFdcEvEAk0DjV/view?usp=sharing
It is a state-of-the-art facility providing the most technologically advanced radiotherapy services to patients in the South of Ireland. Bon Secours Radiotherapy Centre, in partnership with UPMC Hillman Cancer Centre, combines the expertise of Ireland’s largest independent health care provider with UPMC’s world-renowned model of cancer care.
What is Radiation Therapy?
Radiation therapy is a major part of cancer care. Most people will receive some form of radiation during their course of treatment. Radiation therapy can be used as the sole treatment for cancer, or in combination with surgery, chemotherapy, and/or hormone therapy.
Why receive your treatment at Bon Secours Cork Cancer Centre?
The centre is equipped with some of the most advanced technologies available. This includes Munster's only Varian Edge™ Radiotherapy System, which precisely delivers measured doses of radiation to a specific part of the body. With the Edge™ system, treatments can be performed with ease, precision, and speed – often in just a few minutes each day. Treatments that typically would take 30 to 60 minutes may be completed in just 5 to 20 minutes. Faster radiation treatments can be easier on the patient since they may not need to hold still for long periods of time. Independent studies have also shown that with faster treatments there is less time for a tumour to change position, resulting in a more effective treatment.
For more information please visit our Website: www.corkcancercentre.ie
Oncology
Dr Orla Houlihan
Consultant Radiation Oncologist
Biography
Dr Orla Houlihan graduated with First Class Honours from University College Cork. She completed postgraduate training in General Internal Medicine in Dublin, during which time she acquired membership of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland and the Royal College of Physicians of the United Kingdom. Following this, she completed Higher Specialist Training in Radiation Oncology at St. Luke’s Radiation Oncology Network and Cork University Hospital and became a Fellow of the Faculty of Radiologists and Radiation Oncologists, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, in 2019.
Dr Houlihan subsequently embarked on a Clinical Research Fellowship at Queen's University Belfast and Belfast City Hospital, primarily focused on exploring the role of in vivo dosimetry in pelvic brachytherapy and stereotactic ablative body radiotherapy. During this fellowship, Dr Houlihan worked on the EU Horizon 2020 ORIGIN project, a multinational initiative involving the design, development and clinical implementation of a real-time in vivo dosimetry system based on optical fibre sensing technology for use in prostate and gynaecological brachytherapy.
Dr Houlihan has a keen interest in teaching and professional development and has completed a Professional Certificate in Healthcare Management Practice through the UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School, awarded with distinction, a Postgraduate Diploma in Medical Education through the University of Dundee and a Master of Public Health through University College Cork, graduating with First Class Honours. She has been involved in teaching at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels throughout her career and has co-authored an e-learning module on heath inequalities in cancer as part of the Health Education England Programme in partnership with Public Health England and the National Health Service of the United Kingdom.
Dr Houlihan has been involved in developing clinical guidelines with the National Cancer Control Programme (NCCP) including 'Treatment of Patients with Breast Cancer: Radiation Oncology' (2023) and 'NCCP advice for Medical Professionals on Acceptable Dose Fractionation during the COVID-19 Pandemic' (2020). She has also updated the UK Stereotactic Ablative Body Radiation Therapy Consortium Guidelines on the treatment of prostate cancer. She is committed to evidence-based clinical research and practice and has served as a reviewer for the Clinical Oncology Journal and worked at the Prostate Cancer Centre of Excellence at Queen's University Belfast.
Qualifications
MB BCH BAO, PG Dip, MPH, MRCPI, MRCP(UK), FFR RCSIContact Details
- Dr Orla Houlihan
- Bon Secours Radiotherapy Centre in Partnership with UPMC Hillman Cancer Centre, Western Road Entrance, Cork,
Secretary
- Hanorah Kelleher
- Tel: 021 486 1100
Dr Paul Kelly
Consultant Radiation Oncologist
Biography
Dr Paul Kelly is a graduate of University College Cork and completed General Professional Training in medicine at the Mater Hospital, Dublin.
Having acquired Membership of the Royal College of Physicians he completed specialist training in Radiation Oncology at St Luke’s Hospital in Dublin. He became a Fellow of the Faculty of Radiology at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland in 2008 and, thereafter, completed a 2-year Clinical Fellowship in Stereotactic Radiosurgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Massachusetts. Based in Cork since 2011 as a Consultant Radiation Oncologist he is active in clinical research and co-chairs the GU disease-specific subgroup (DSSG) of Cancer Trials Ireland.
His chief interests include prostate cancer, brain tumours, stereotactic radiotherapy and prostate seed brachytherapy.
He recently took up a position as Medical Director of the new radiation oncology facility at the Bon Secours Radiotherapy Centre joint venture with University of Pittsburgh Medical Centre (UPMC) Hillman Cancer Centre.
Qualifications
MB BCh BAO BMedSci MRCPI FFR (RCSI) ESTRO FellowAppointments
Referrals and Enquiries email:
Contact Details
- Dr Paul Kelly
- Bon Secours Radiotherapy Centre in Partnership with UPMC Hillman Cancer Centre, Western Road Entrance, Cork,
Secretary
- Hanorah Kelleher
- Tel: 021 - 4861100
Dr Kathy Rock
Consultant Radiation Oncologist
Biography
Dr. Kathy Rock is a Consultant Radiation Oncologist at the Bon Secours Radiotherapy Centre Cork in joint venture with University of Pittsburgh Medical Centre (UPMC) Hillman Cancer Centre since January 2024. She graduated from University College Dublin with honours in 2007. She completed internal general professional training at St. James Hospital and gained membership to Royal College of Physicians in 2010. She completed specialist training in Radiation Oncology at St. Luke’s Radiation Oncology Network and Cork University Hospital, gaining fellowship to the Faculty of Radiologists, Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland in 2014.
She completed a two-year advanced Radiation Oncology fellowship in Breast and Head and Neck Cancer at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto. She was appointed as Chief Fellow and was awarded the Canadian Association of Radiation Oncology Scholarship for quality assurance work in Breast Cancer. She returned from Canada in 2018 and took up a post as a Consultant Radiation Oncologist in CUH in February 2018.
Dr. Rock has been involved in developing clinical guidelines with the National Cancer Control Programme (NCCP) including Treatment of Patients with Breast Cancer: Radiation Oncology (2023) and NCCP guidance for Medical Professionals on the management of patients with head and neck cancer undergoing radiotherapy in response to the current COVID-19 pandemic.
She supports specialist training for Radiation Oncology in Ireland and is a lecturer for Specialist Registrars to the Radiation Oncology Training Programme of the Faculty of Radiologists. She was involved in the design and implementation of the updated National Radiation Oncology Curriculum and has been an examiner for the Faculty of Radiologists, RCSI for the final Radiation Oncology fellowship exams.
Areas of Interest
* Breast Cancer
* Head and Neck Cancer
* Skin Cancer
* Clinical Trials
Additional Information
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
* Clinical Trials Ireland (CTI)
* Irish Head and Neck Society Membership (IHNS)
* American Society of Radiation Oncology (ASTRO)
Qualifications
MB BCh BAO, MRCPI, FFR RCSIContact Details
- Dr Kathy Rock
- Bon Secours Radiotherapy Centre in Partnership with UPMC Hillman Cancer Centre, Western Road Entrance, Cork,
Secretary
- Hanorah Kelleher
- Tel: 021 486 1100
To access the services in the Bon Secours Cork Cancer Centre, you will need a letter of referral from your GP to the relevant Consultant/Department
