Healthcare professionals at the Forrest General Cancer Center are committed to making cancer treatment as easy and timely as possible for every patient.
For patients undergoing radiation treatment, the Cancer Center recently upgraded one of its three linear accelerators to the advanced TrueBeam™ system. This new technology delivers faster, more precise treatments, enhancing both safety and comfort. A ribbon cutting for the new TrueBeam™ accelerator was held September 3 at the Cancer Center.
Zach Christ, Cancer Center chief physicist and Radiology Safety Officer, said as cancer care evolves, so does Forrest Health. “Our new TrueBeam™ 4.1 system is the latest addition to the suite of cancer care options at Forrest Health. This linear accelerator retains the groundbreaking beam generation technology of the TrueBeam™ platform, and adds faster, more precise radiation treatments with enhanced safety,” he said. “This system is intended to provide stereotactic radiosurgery and precision radiotherapy for lesions, tumors, and conditions anywhere in the body where radiation treatment is indicated. We are excited about what this new system means for our patients.”
The main advantages of the Varian TrueBeam system are ease, precision and speed. Thanks to its pinpoint accuracy, this system can be used to treat many different types of tumors, including those in sensitive areas such as the abdomen, liver, lung, breast, and head and neck. Simple treatments that once took 10 to 30 minutes can now be completed in less than two minutes. As well as allowing for a more comfortable experience for the patient with less time on the treatment couch, faster delivery also allows for reduced chances of tumor motion during treatment, which helps protect nearby healthy tissue and critical organs. It also makes it possible to create images using 25% less X-ray dosage.
In addition to its impressive technical specifications, TrueBeam has also been designed with patient comfort in mind. It operates quietly and provides built-in music capabilities, so the patient can listen to music during their treatment. The patient is in constant two-way communication with the radiation therapists who operates the system. Plus, the radiation therapist is able to visually monitor and see the patient through two closed-circuit television systems throughout the treatment. The beam-producing system is installed in a vault in the healthcare setting to provide shielding from radiation, while the control panel that uses the device software is placed outside the treatment room.
“I am very excited about our new True Beam Varian linear accelerator (LINAC) at the Cancer Center,” said Joseph Salloum, MD, radiation oncologist. “This third LINAC system will allow for greater access to this personalized, precise radiation therapy in a timely manner for cancer patients. The new accelerator will also increase patient access to radiation oncology treatments.”
According to Salloum, the need for a new accelerator has been driven by unprecedented growth in the oncology practice at Forrest General Hospital and will ensure all patients who are in need of radiotherapy will have timely access to treatment. “The advantage to having three linear accelerators in use on a daily basis is we will be able to treat more people each day, thus increasing the number of patients we can care for each year,” Salloum said.
Jeff Cook, Forrest Health President/CEO, noted how invaluable and important technology like the new TrueBeam linear accelerator is to our community. “Knowing the number of procedures and treatments we provide with our linear accelerators is staggering,” he said, referring to the more than 15,000 procedures during the last year. “Because of access to high-quality care, our patients don’t have to drive to a major city to get treatment. We have the technology with our TrueBeam Linear Acclerators, our physicians, and our staff to receive great cancer care here, so I am excited about what this means for us as we keep investing in our community. As we get more equipment and invest in our staff, it means that our patients and our community are being taken care of.”
