Claxton-Hepburn

V12N4

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living Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center well fall 2013 Volume 12 Number 4 We take your health personally. Cancer Care on a Higher Level Experience Counts No matter its sophistication, medical technology is merely a tool that requires experienced and compassionate hands to effectively guide it. The team at Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center has the training and background needed to help ease the burden of living with cancer. "Our staff has special training and a wealth of knowledge, particularly in stereotactic body radiation therapy," says Jerry Sheppard, director of the Richard E. Winter Cancer Center at Claxton-Hepburn. "Along with that experience comes a team willing to give their time and effort for the patient's benefit." A second linear accelerator, arriving this winter, will expand Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center's ability to deliver cancer care faster, with fewer side effects, and within a comfortable distance from home. Due to increased growth in the community, Claxton-Hepburn has added a second linear accelerator to its cancer care technology lineup. Claxton-Hepburn's new Varian Trilogy™ linear accelerator will soon deliver healing beams of radiation directly to cancerous tumors faster and with greater precision than ever. RADIATION THERAPIES DEFINED Claxton-Hepburn provides care for more cancer patients than any other facility in the area north of Syracuse and west of Vermont. Linear accelerators enable Claxton-Hepburn physicians to perform several types of external beam radiation therapy: Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) treats cancers located in various places in the body, allowing the radiation dose to be customized to the exact shape, size, and position of even the smallest tumors. This precise technique shields healthy organs and tissues surrounding the tumor from the radiation, reducing side effects such as fatigue and nausea often associated with conventional radiation therapy. Both linear accelerators at Claxton-Hepburn offer IMRT capabilities and exceptional precision. "The Trilogy system has the ability to deliver a concentrated amount of radiation to a spot of any size, even as small as the thickness of half a dime," says John W. Gebert, MD, radiation oncologist at the Richard E. Winter Cancer Center at Claxton-Hepburn. "Using three-dimensional imaging and localization techniques, we will determine the exact coordinates of the tumor and provide the most focused and effective treatment." CONTINUES ON PAGE 2 Win a Kindle Fire HD. See page 2 for details.

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