Cancer Center Installs

‘TrueBeam’ To Combat

Disease More Quickly

Director: Accelerator A ‘Game Changer’

COOPERSTOWN – The Bassett Cancer Institute today announced the installation of a TrueBeam linear accelerator that will treat complex cancers much more quickly.

Dr. Alfred Tinger, the institute’s chief and medical director, called the TrueBeam “a game changer in terms of cancer treatment in this region.”

“Some cancers can be hard to reach and precisely target,” he said. “The TrueBeam changes that. It is an advanced radiotherapy system with functionality that allows us to treat cancer anywhere in the body as precisely as possible. It offers greater accuracy, speed and comfort for patients.”

The Truebeam performs accuracy checks every 10 milliseconds during the course of a treatment and a patient’s time on the table is reduced by 75 percent. For example, rather than a typical treatment time of 25 minutes for a prostate cancer patient, patients can be done in 5 to 6 minutes, a huge difference for men who are best treated with a full bladder.

“Comfort is so crucial in medical care, especially for our cancer patients,” said Tinger. “This is an investment in them so they can have a better experience, confidence in their treatment and the best opportunity possible for a cure.”

The technology provides image-guided stereotactic radiosurgery and radiotherapy to treat many different types of cancers, such as brain metastases or meningiomas, lung, liver, prostate and pancreatic cancers, and is also capable of precisely treating breast, esophageal, stomach, gynecological and rectal cancers.

The Bassett announcement listed these added benefits:

• The new linear accelerator rotates around the patient as it delivers a prescribed radiation dose from nearly any angle.
• Image-guided tumor targeting allows for therapy that is more precise so surrounding healthy tissue is spared.
• The TrueBeam’s speed and functionality also mean patients are exposed to less radiation.
• Shorter treatment times improve patient comfort.
• Advanced motion management feature senses when a patient moves out of range and stops the treatment, enhancing safety.

With the new linear accelerator at Bassett Hospital, patients no longer have to travel long distances to get the advanced cancer care and the technology they need.

“This is a win for us and for our patients,” says Tinger. “The cancer care team has been at Bassett a long time. They are part of the community and living here means that we are treating our families, friends and neighbors. We want to provide the best possible care and this investment gives us a leg up.”