Health Essentials - Summer 2011 - Hillcrest - (Page 6)

Taking aim By Anne Gallagher Though nearly 70 years have passed, Ed Horwatt of Mentor vividly remembers the little girl named Anna who captured his attention in third grade. “I had my eye on her,” he says. “At Halloween, I won her over by giving her a Milky Way® bar.” Apparently, Ed’s small investment in candy has paid huge dividends over the years. The couple recently celebrated their 57th wedding anniversary. Anna is a big reason why Ed wants to be healthy. So when he developed bladder cancer five years ago, he did everything he could to get better. That included undergoing surgery to remove 11 tumors and then gritting his teeth through chemotherapy treatments. Despite the difficulties, Ed beat the cancer and remained healthy for five years. But his dreams of coasting through his remaining “Golden Years” with Anna came screeching to a halt during a checkup when his physician discovered a tumor in Ed’s prostate gland. “I was shocked and devastated when I found out I had prostate cancer,” Ed says. “When it was time for radiation, I was reluctant because my previous experience was so bad. But after the first couple times at Hillcrest Hospital, I felt completely comfortable with it. I’ve had no discomfort and no aftereffects at all. This was 100 percent better than my experience at the previous hospital.” A Better Way Ed’s pleasant response to radiation at the Cleveland Clinic Cancer Center at Hillcrest Hospital may be credited to a newly acquired state-of-the-art linear accelerator (LINAC), which is capable of performing image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT). The machine “zaps” cancer cells with more precise, tightly focused radiation beams than were previously available. “We’re very excited to have the LINAC with IGRT,” says Henry Blair, MD, who specializes in radiation oncology at Hillcrest Hospital’s Radiation Oncology Department along with Carmen Vermont, MD, and Betty Obi, MD. “It’s the most advanced form of radiation out there, and we’re one of only a handful of hospitals on Cleveland’s east side offering this to patients. “The new technology is making the biggest impact with prostate and gynecological cancers,” explains Dr. Blair, who oversaw Ed’s care at Hillcrest. “With older equipment, treatments for these cancers often result in diarrhea, incontinence and nausea. With the LINAC, there are substantially fewer side effects because we can more exactly pinpoint cancer cells and avoid damaging normal cells.” The ability to pinpoint the location of tumors is important because tumors can move slightly between and even during treatments. How It Works Radiation therapy successfully shrinks tumors by killing cancer cells or impairing their ability to reproduce. Unfortunately, it can also affect normal cells. While most normal cells recover fully from radiation, some are impacted enough that they cause unpleasant side effects. Thanks to the LINAC’s extreme precision, physicians can increase the radiation dose to cancer cells while keeping the dose to surrounding tissue as low as possible, boosting the ability to destroy tumors while minimizing side effects. “Attached to the LINAC is a device that creates a radiographic image similar to a CT scan and enables us to capture images of what we’re treating,” says Dr. Blair. “By fusing treatment planning with these CT-type images, we can tighten up margins of the treatment area and avoid damaging normal structures.” summeR 2011 (call) tHe cHoIce Is youRs Although your physician may recommend a facility for your cancer treatments, you have a choice. For more information on oncology services at the cleveland clinic cancer center at Hillcrest Hospital, or to make an appointment, call 800.233.8100. 6 HeAltH essentIAls

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Health Essentials - Summer 2011 - Hillcrest

Health Essentials - Summer 2011 - Hillcrest
Contents
A message from the president of Hillcrest Hospital
The gift of twins: A local family has a special Christmas
New radiation technology takes aim at cancer

Health Essentials - Summer 2011 - Hillcrest