Support Shore Cancer Center’s $1 Million CT Simulator Fund
Radiation therapy is a necessary part of the cancer-fighting toolbox for about half of all patients faced with a cancer diagnosis. Patients often will need to come in for radiation five days a week, for weeks in a row. Radiation therapy can significantly increase a patient’s longevity or quality of life, and in many cases, it can help eradicate their cancer altogether.
Over the past year, Shore Medical Center has invested nearly $5 million in radiation oncology upgrades, including a new $3.5 million Varian TrueBeam linear accelerator installed this spring. TrueBeam uses cutting-edge arc therapy to administer radiation with greater speed and precision. With these upgrades, we are able to give our community local access to the most advanced radiation treatment – but one final and crucial upgrade is necessary: a new $1 million 4D CT Simulator for radiation planning. We hope you will join us in making this new CT simulator a reality by contributing $25, $50, $100, $250 or more in our final stretch of our radiation oncology enhancements!
The Importance of Careful Planning
Most patients prescribed radiation will have an initial CT simulation appointment. The CT simulator provides the images that Shore Radiation Oncologist Dr. John Wilson and his team use to develop a radiation treatment plan that maximizes cancer cell destruction while minimizing damage to surrounding organs and tissue. Because Shore Cancer Center is a member of the Penn Cancer Network, each radiation treatment plan is then presented to a review board at Penn Medicine in Philadelphia. Their radiation oncology experts ensure the plan meets Penn’s protocols, making any adjustments that might be necessary.
More than Just Convenient
Today, all radiation CT simulations occur in the main hospital across the street from the Cancer Center on a CT scanner used for patients with and without cancer. Each time, the CT scanner must be modified for radiation simulation. Dr. Wilson says having a dedicated 4D CT simulator at the cancer center is not just about making things more convenient for patients and staff - although that go a long way in improving the patient’s experience - it is the gold standard in radiation oncology.
“The dedicated 4D CT scanner will allow us to pinpoint tumors even more precisely during the planning CT while a patient is breathing. This is especially helpful for lung and upper abdomen tumors that move more during breathing. The new CT scanner would also have a wider bore, enabling us to better scan our larger patients and those in certain positions, such as when we treat them with their arms up. In a normal sized CT, it can be difficult to include all of their anatomies.”
Philanthropy Makes it Possible
Dr. Wilson is deeply impressed by the care and compassion of the Cancer Center team and those who generously support the mission – and he has supported it himself. He has already contributed $13,000 toward the CT simulation project, and is eager to help Shore reach its $1 million CT Simulator fundraising goal by December 2023.
“When patients have access to high-quality radiation oncology care close to home, it can make a big difference in their experience and outcomes,” said Dr. Wilson. “The changes we’ve made in radiation oncology so far would not have been possible without the generous support of our community. I hope we can continue to count on our friends for their support of the CT simulator, the final major upgrade in our radiation oncology program. Together, we can bring all the best in radiation treatment to Shore Cancer Center.”
Would you like to support Shore Medical Center’s $1 Million CT Simulator fund? Please contact Mary McGuckin at 609-653-4657 or mmcguckin@shoremedicalcenter.org or click here. Thank you in advance for joining us in bringing the best in radiation treatment to Shore Cancer Center!
