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"I was impressed with how quickly the treatment was delivered," saidHosler, who performs a regimen of 100 push ups and 100 sits ups every day andwas pleased to be one of the first patients in the world to receive a RapidArctreatment, "I like knowing that I am doing something to help others in thefuture," he said.
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"The treatment went very well," said Mary Anne de Paz, MD, Hosler'sradiation oncologist. "RapidArc gives us the ability to deliver a highlyaccurate treatment in a very short timeframe. This convenience is especiallyimportant when treating elderly patients, who often have trouble lying stillfor long periods of time."
"Prostate cancer treatments are typically delivered five days a week overa period of eight weeks, so a savings of 12 minutes or more each day reallyadds up for our patients," says John Ridley, director of radiation oncology atDecatur Memorial. "With RapidArc, the time they must spend immobilized in thetreatment room is reduced by up to eight hours over an entire course oftreatment."
RapidArc delivers advanced image-guided, intensity-modulated radiationtherapy (IMRT) treatments two to eight times faster than is possible withconventional IMRT or helical tomotherapy. The treatments are delivered withjust one 360 degree rotation of the treatment machine around the patient.
"We believe that this technology will become the preferred method fortreating many types of cancer with doses that match the shape and size of thetumor," said Sharon McMillian, MS, DABR, medical physicist. "In comparisonsthat we ran, our RapidArc treatment plans for prostate cancer looked betterthan conventional IMRT plans, in terms of tumor coverage."
RapidArc Technology
RapidArc treatments are created using Varian's Eclipse(TM) treatmentplanning software and delivered using either a Clinac(R) or Trilogy(TM) linearaccelerator, a machine that rotates around the patient to deliver thetreatment beam from virtually any angle. A device with a computer-controlledaperture is used to shape the treatment beam so that it matches the shape andsize of the tumor. Proprietary RapidArc software varies the speed of rotationaround the patient, the dimensions of the beam-shaping aperture, and the rateof dose delivery in order to target the tumor and avoids the surroundinghealthy tissues.
"We are very excited about providing our patients with the benefits ofthis latest advance in cancer treatment," said Ridley. "We firmly believethat RapidArc is a superior technology that extends the versatility of ourimage-guided radiotherapy system, so that we can offer our patients the bestcare available."
About Decatur Memorial Hospital
Decatur Memorial Hospital (DMH) has been providing medical care since1916, for the residents of central Illinois. DMH encompasses twelvestate-of-the-art Centers of Excellence which focus on the cutting edge ofmedicine today. By combining a highly trained staff of professionals with thelatest advancements in technology, DMH furthers its mission of improving thehealth of the people of central Illinois.
About Varian Medical Systems
Varian Medical Systems, Inc., of Palo Alto, California, is the world'sleading manufacturer of medical devices and software for treating cancer andother medical conditions with radiotherapy, radiosurgery, proton therapy, andbrachytherapy. The company supplies informatics software for managingcomprehensive cancer clinics, radiothe
