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In 2000, nearly 70,000 Pennsylvanians were diagnosed with some form of cancer, according to the American Cancer Society. Today, patients in the central Susquehanna Valley have a new and advanced place to receive their cancer care, the Donehower Center.
Located in the Lewisburg Medical Park, the Donehower Center features the latest in cancer technology: a Linear Accelerator with Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT). For radiation therapy, IMRT delivers a more focused beam of radiation, increasing the precision with which the cancer cells are destroyed, and decreasing the chances that healthy tissue will be harmed in the process.
"Radiation therapy is used today in more than half of all cancer treatments, due to its ultra-precise dose delivery," Lewisburg Cancer Care oncologist Poonam Srivastava, MD explained. "At the Donehower Center, we now have the capability to substantially improve both patient comfort and cure rates by protecting healthy tissue while delivering more powerful doses to the tumor," she added.
Enhancing the dose concentrations to the tumor gives physicians a much greater chance of completely eradicating the tumor, rather than simply causing a temporary regression. This technology also enables physicians to use radiation therapy to treat areas that would have been considered too risky just a few years ago.
Another advanced treatment featured in the Donehower Center will be respiratory gating, a powerful noninvasive technique that allows for greatly improved accuracy in radiation therapy and the benefit of avoiding damage to surrounding, healthy tissue. Respiratory gating is specifically used to treat cancers in the lung and upper abdomen, since it matches the radiation treatment to a patient's respiratory pattern. When one breathes, the chest wall moves in and out, and any structures inside the chest and upper abdomen also move. With this new technique, radiation treatment is timed to an individual's breathing pattern, targeting the tumor only when it is in the best range. This approach decreases possible complications and side effects, while using higher doses and getting better outcomes.
The 9,500 square foot facility is equipped to provide both medical and radiation oncology to patients. The Center includes a large waiting and reception area, six exam rooms, chemotherapy suite and private treatment rooms, radiation and lab areas, as well as a beautiful garden area, which can be enjoyed by patients in the chemotherapy suite. The garden area also includes a "Walkway of Hope," made of bricks that can be purchased in honor or memory of a loved one.
The Center is owned by the Hospital with the medical and radiation oncology services being provided by Cancer Care of Central PA: Poonam Srivastava, MD, Ashok Kumar, MD and Mayur Patel, MD. The Donehower Center will round out its comprehensive cancer care with radiation oncologist Emily Militzer, MD.
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