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No Comments [ Add Comment ]Davis Hospital and Medical Center home to new cancer center
By Bryon SaxtonLAYTON -- New cancer-treatment technology, possibly the first of its kind in the state, is now available on the Davis Hospital and Medical Center campus in Layton.
The hospital on Monday opened its $6 million Cancer Treatment Center in the Robert F. Bitner Medical Office building.
The medical office is part of the hospital campus at 1600 W. Antelope Drive, west of the hospital's emergency room entrance.
The center provides a type of treatment for cancer patients that is the first of its kind in the state, said Lora Kier, hospital director of marketing and community relations.
"This is a brand-new service," she said.
The TomoTherapy treatment system involves the use of a $3 million piece of medical machinery designed from the ground up to treat cancer patients. It uses a unique CT scanner to deliver radiation from all angles, officials said.
With TomoTherapy, center staff can sculpt small, powerful and precise radiation beams to target hard-to-reach tumors.
It can also use built-in CT scanning to confirm the shape and position of the tumor before each treatment and reduce radiation exposure to healthy surrounding tissues, Kier said.
"Then they can compare that day's image with the one used for planning, to make sure that radiation will be directed to where it should be."
The daily CT images can also be used to analyze, and if necessary, modify a patient's treatment at any point during the treatment course, she said.
"TomoTherapy technology allows for dose distribution that conforms to tumors like never before," said Rob Harris, one of two radiation oncologists with Gamma West Cancer Services who will staff the center.
Gamma West Cancer Services is partnering with the hospital in the service with its physicians operating the hospital's new equipment.
"The insight that is afforded by the daily CT imaging helps us know that radiation will reach the tumor as planned, and exposure to healthy tissues and organs is minimized along the way," Harris said.
"This technology is the leading edge of cancer treatment."
The other physician working the center is Roger Hansen.
In addition to the center offering the latest in cancer treatment, Kier said, the system also opens the hospital up to new patients.
"This is actually a huge blessing to the people of Davis County," Harris said.
Before now, no radiation therapy was available in the 250,000-resident county.
"This is an attempt to bring treatment closer to the people who need it," he said of Davis residents, who in the past were forced to travel to Ogden or Salt Lake City for treatment.
"It is going to be busy, I am sure of that," said Harris, who already has 10 patients set to receive the service.
Cancer was the leading cause of death in Utah in 2005 for those between the ages of 35 to 64, according to Centers For Disease Control and Prevention statistics.
For more information about TomoTherapy, visit the hospital Web site, www.davishospital.com.
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