Cancer Patients in Mount Pleasant will Now Benefit from State-of-the-art Image-Guided Radiotherapy and Radiosurgery
McLaren Central Michigan has commenced treating cancer patients using a new TrueBeam™ system from Varian Medical Systems. This innovative technology enables delivery of highly precise, sophisticated image-guided radiotherapy in the treatment of cancer. Brooke Spencer, MD, MPH, a member of the Karmanos Cancer Institute team, along with David Bergman, MD, treated the first patients this week using the hospital’s new system.
Eric, a 49-year-old Mount Pleasant resident recently diagnosed with a type of cancer called rectal adenocarcinoma, was among the first patients to receive treatment on the new TrueBeam™ system. “I started my radiation therapy three weeks ago in Bay City, and I’m grateful to now be receiving treatment so close to home in Mount Pleasant. When you have treatment five days a week, the shorter commute makes a huge difference—especially when you’re tired,” said Eric.
The TrueBeam™ system incorporates “intelligent” automation and high dose delivery rates that help reduce treatment time. In many cases, simple treatments that once took 15 minutes or more once the patient was positioned for treatment, can be completed in less than two.
"The TrueBeam™ linear accelerator allows for a safe and reliable way to provide faster delivery of radiation treatments with superior precision and accuracy," said Dr. Spencer. "In turn, this offers more flexible treatment options for our cancer patients."
“We are excited to provide members of our community access to this state-of-the-art weapon against cancer,” said Robert David, President and CEO of McLaren Central Michigan. “At the Karmanos Cancer Institute, we specialize in providing cancer care that you cannot get anywhere else. With access to more than 250 promising new cancer-specific treatments found only at Karmanos, we give you your best chance forward.”
When dealing with cancer, the sooner you receive treatment, the better your chances are of beating it.
“Routine screenings play an important role in addition to recognizing signs and symptoms early,” said David. “We welcome the community to sign up for our upcoming no-cost Colorectal Cancer Screenings at our Morey Cancer Center on March 18th and March 30th.” Pre-registration for these screenings are required, and can be done at www.mclaren.org/crcscreening or by calling toll-free 1-877-411-2762 anytime to make an appointment.
“My father died of this same type of cancer when I was 18, and my grandmother had colon cancer. After experiencing intermittent symptoms for a couple of months, I knew it was time to see a primary care doctor,” said Eric. “Once I received my diagnoses, I began doing endless research. I knew I wanted to go to the best. My sister is an oncology nurse at a major hospital in Metro Detroit, and she told me to go with Karmanos. I’m so impressed with how quickly my care was coordinated and started.”
TrueBeam™ can be used for many forms of advanced treatments such as image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT), including intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), RapidArc® radiotherapy technology and Gated RapidArc. For more information on this technology, visit https://www.mclaren.org/main/varian-linear-acceleration-karmanos.