Cost discounting was not required as the study period was less than one year. Quantities were reported separately from the costs. The unit costs for the cost components were reported separately. The cost analysis covered the costs of labour, capital, and overhead (variable non-labour costs). The perspective adopted in the analysis was that of a payer (in this case the provincial Ministry of Health). The sources of cost data were the cancer centre administration and the regional health authority. An inflation rate of 5% was applied where required.1997 price data were used. The costs of minor pieces of operating room equipment and the cost of overhead and computing in the planning department for LDR were excluded.