FOR RELEASE (PHOTO ATTACHED)
December 16, 2011
Catawba Valley Medical Center Provides First Local True BeamTMLinear Accelerator
First Cancer Center to have a True Beam Linear Accelerator in the Carolinas
HICKORY, NC—Catawba Valley Medical Center’s (CVMC) Comprehensive
Cancer Center has completed installation of a new True Beam linear accelerator
with IMRT, IGRT and RapidArcTM capabilities. This is the most advanced cancer treatment option currently
available nationwide. CVMC is the first Cancer Center to have a True BeamTM in the Carolinas.
This revolutionary technology will allow more precise treatments of cancers
and lesions, including brain tumors. This type of treatment uses targeted
beams of radiation to destroy cancerous tissue and cells much like surgery
would, but from outside the body without the need for incisions. Image-guided
radiotherapy and radiosurgery can make treatment more comfortable, less
time consuming and can reduce side effects.
“Prior to this technology, most patients with brain tumors would
be sent out of town. Now, this treatment is available here,” says
Len Hurst, Director of Radiation Oncology at CVMC. “With the True
Beam, a Standard IMRT treatment, which normally lasts 10-15 minutes, can
be completed in a time shorter than three minutes. A complex radiosurgery
operation, which lasts 40 minutes to two hours, can be completed in 5-20
minutes. It also performs accuracy control every 10 milliseconds throughout
treatment. Patients may experience reduced side effects due to shorter
treatment time and higher treatment accuracy. This is a great piece of
technology CVMC has invested in and it will greatly benefit members of
our community.”
Services offered at CVMC’s Comprehensive Cancer Center include: nurse
navigation, mobile mammography, a PET/CT Center, Radiation Oncology, an
Infusion Center, a Community Cancer Resource Center, cancer support groups
and the True Beam linear accelerator.
Catawba Valley Medical Center in Hickory, N.C., is the region’s largest
not-for-profit, public healthcare system and serves the community without
direct funding from taxes. CVMC provides and promotes physical, mental,
emotional and spiritual well-being of the public in addition to serving
as a center for health education, wellness services, preventive medicine
and acute care. CVMC has received three Magnet designations from the American
Nurses Credentialing Center and has been recognized for providing “An
Outstanding Inpatient Experience” for a fourth consecutive year
by J.D. Power and Associates. For more information, please visit
http://www.catawbavalleymedical.org.