Providing the most precise radiation treatment available

The MetroHealth Cancer Care Center is investing in $5.4 million of cancer treatment technology, making MetroHealth one of the most advanced, high-quality cancer treatment facilities in Northeast Ohio.

What this means for patients:

• Extremely precise delivery of radiation therapy, thus sparing healthy tissue near the tumor from radiation damage.
• Tumors can be treated in a shorter amount of time without compromising the quality of care.
• More accurate radiation doses that better match each patient’s individual treatment plan.
• Exact radiation beam data will be the same on two machines, allowing for continuous patient treatment if one machine cannot be used.
• Accommodation of large patients or patients in immobilization devices without reducing image quality.
• Specialized treatments such as Stereotactic Radiosurgery and high-dose-rate Brachytherapy.

In addition to new equipment, the Cancer Care Center’s waiting room and chemotherapy treatment suites will be renovated to provide a soothing environment for patients, thereby aiding their recovery.

“This enhancement, along with the significant investment in state-of-the-art technology, will better complement the advanced care the expert physicians, nurses, social workers and patient navigators provide to every patient who walks through our doors,” said Timothy O’Brien, MD, Director of the Cancer Care Center. “This is a monumental time for the MetroHealth Cancer Care Center.”

The new $2.6 million Varian Trilogy linear accelerator will be operational by mid-summer and will be the only one of its kind in Northeast Ohio. With stereotactic radiosurgery capability, Trilogy can target radiation to an area as small as a pencil point, minimizing damage to healthy tissue surrounding a tumor. It delivers radiation doses nearly 60% faster than conventional linear accelerators used to treat cancer, providing patient treatment in a much shorter period of time.

“With Varian Trilogy, we will have the power, precision and versatility to treat patients faster with more accuracy, as well as provide a wide range of treatment options to patients based on their individual treatment needs,” said Ravindra Kulasekere, PhD, Director of Clinical Medical Physics at MetroHealth. ”With the addition of this machine in the Cancer Care Center, patients will have all of the latest radiation therapy options in one place.”

MetroHealth also has upgraded its ability to plan more precise cancer treatments. The Cancer Care Center has installed a new on-board imaging system on its Varian iX accelerator, allowing the medical team to take daily images of the patient in their treatment position and align these images to the planned treatment image so we can direct the radiation very accurately to the tumor’s location. In addition, MetroHealth’s new Philips Brilliance Big-Bore CT Simulator can accommodate patients up to 440 pounds and can obtain images with unparalleled speed and clarity.

Finally, MetroHealth’s new High Dose Rate (HDR) Brachytherapy system will deliver high dose rate treatments on an outpatient basis for issues such as gynecological tumors.

“Cancer is still a major threat to the health of all Americans, but with MetroHealth’s significant investment in treatment technology, the ability to successfully treat and recover from various types of cancer is significantly improved,” Dr. O’Brien said.

MetroHealth is accredited by the Commission on Cancer and is a member of an elite group of hospitals across the country accredited by the American College of Surgeons National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers.