Cancer Committee Annual Report

2007

2006

2005

2004

2003

The Washington Hospital has maintained a goal of excellence for over 100 years, reaching out and responding to the healthcare needs of patients and their families. Cancer care, including prevention, detection, treatment, support, and education, has long been a vital part of the hospital’s mission in meeting the healthcare needs of its community. The Washington Hospital Cancer Center is well known for its quality of care, and it is accredited by the American College of Surgeons as a comprehensive community cancer center, one of 400 nationwide.

Treatment

Cancer is not a simple disease. It is a word used to describe hundreds of distinct conditions involving the breakdown or interruption of the normal growth of a cell. Because of the numerous types of cancer, prevention and care remain as challenges, but there is hope on many horizons. In fact, more than half of those diagnosed with cancer today can be cured, while advancements in research, treatment, and support continue to improve the lives of patients with cancer as well as of their families and loved ones.

The Washington Hospital provides a coordinated program of care encompassing the three major cancer treatment disciplines: surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy. Many patients come daily for outpatient treatment, and patients requiring hospitalization stay on Unit 6E in comfortable surroundings. The 24 private rooms on this unit offer an atmosphere conducive to treatment, education, and family support.
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Radiation Therapy

Keeping current with advanced technology presents a challenge for most hospitals today. The Washington Hospital believes that its patients deserve the best care, and having the most modern equipment is one of the ways to accomplish this. When the hospital installed the latest radiation oncology system for the treatment of cancer, it was the first community hospital in the area with such equipment. The system offers more effective and focused radiation therapy in less time than ever before possible. Tumors can be precisely targeted, and treatments can be given with less discomfort. This improvement in care is truly significant.

A computerized system in the accelerator controls the high energy x-ray beam to conform as closely as possible to the tumor’s shape and volume, minimizing potential damage to healthy surrounding cells. A special feature, the multi-leaf collimator, controls the radiation beam which is directed towards cancerous tissues in conformal shapes, a great improvement over the traditional treatment.

The accelerator, a Varian 2100 CD, is part of a system that includes 3D treatment planning. A simulator that targets cancerous tumors using high energy radiation to stop the spread of cancer provides relief for cancer patients, and, in many cases, cures the disease. Radiotherapy is particularly effective in curing breast and prostate cancer, two of the most common cancers in the U.S.A.
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IMRT Therapy

The Washington Hospital offers the most advanced cancer treatment technology available with a new $1.4 million linear accelerator. The accelerator and advanced software enables patients to receive Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT)—the newest technology and most aggressive form of treating cancerous tumors with radiation therapy.

Radiation therapy focuses a beam of radiation on a tumor to kill cancer cells and either eliminate the tumor or slow its growth.  With conventional radiation therapy, the beam might miss parts of the tumor or damage surrounding, healthy tissue.  IMRT varies the intensity of the beam so that more or less radiation is used depending on the size, shape and location of the tumor.  With IMRT, increased radiation doses can be more precisely delivered to the tumor while sparing the surrounding healthy tissue.

The new linear accelerator will be one of two accelerators at The Washington Hospital, which began offering radiation therapy in 1989.  Since 1998, the hospital has spent more than $5 million upgrading its radiation therapy equipment including the new accelerator and the 1998 replacement of one of the original accelerators with a new unit featuring conformal therapy, an advanced technological development.
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Seed Implant Program (Brachytherapy)

The Washington Hospital also offers through its Radiation Therapy Department brachytherapy or seed implants for those with early stage prostate cancer and nearly any other cancer of the body. Prostate cancer is one of the leading malignancies and the second cause of cancer deaths among men. This treatment has become widely available in the last few years as an alternative to radical prostectomy, the surgery that is the most common treatment for localized prostate cancer. The advent of high-powered computers and ultrasound permits more precise placement of seeds, which are smaller than grains of rice. This procedure is done in an outpatient setting and requires only a few visits for complete treatment.
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PET Technology

The Washington Hospital recently added another weapon in the fight against cancer. New imaging technology called positron emission tomography or PET for short is now available at the hospital. PET can detect cancer cells as small as one centimeter that may not be clearly identified with conventional technology such as computed tomography (CT) scanning or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Physicians are using PET to diagnosis and plan treatment of cancers, such as lymphoma, colorectal, melanoma, and non-small cell lung cancers.

PET is performed at the hospital with the newly installed Marconi IRIX triple detector gamma camera, one of the most advanced nuclear medicine camera systems in the world.

 “The IRIX represents a technologically advanced system for diagnostic imaging,” said William Castro, M.D., medical director of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine at The Washington Hospital.  “It complements imaging studies we are currently performing and offers a broad range of applications for new studies. The IRIX will be extremely important in the evaluation of cancer patients and will allow physicians to enhance patient care and management of their patients with cancer,” he said.

According to Dr. Castro, the new technology is based on cancer tumors’ taste for glucose (or sugar). Patients are required to fast for 12 hours prior to the exam and are then injected with a radioactive substance that contains glucose. During the PET scan, the cancer cells absorb more of the glucose than normal cells and they show up as “hot” spots on the image of the portion of the body being scanned. “The important difference is that, with conventional imaging technology, we see only the outline of a tumor. With PET, we can actually see a physiological process,” explained Dr. Castro. By combining the PET image with a CT scan or MRI of the tumor, PET can also help physicians “stage” a tumor or determine its progression, and know whether treatment of the tumor is effective.
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Support

Comprehensive cancer care involves more than technical treatment. Total care addresses a person’s spiritual, emotional, and educational needs. Hospital professionals and the medical staff at The Washington Hospital, in conjunction with the American Cancer Society, provide information, assistance, and counseling and offer a number of support groups to those who live with cancer. Education and screening programs help to promote early detection and prevention. The hospital also has a hospice program for patients with life-limiting illnesses. At The Washington Hospital, the needs of the whole person are addressed with compassion, concern, and respect.
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