BIDMC First to Offer CyberKnife Radiosurgery for Tumors
Stevenson & Fischer with CyberKnife.
This summer BIDMC will become the first and only center in New England to offer the CyberKnife System — a dynamic, new radiation therapy system. The non-invasive radiosurgical technique treats malignant and benign tumors anywhere in the body.
“CyberKnife technology allows for highly precise treatment of tumors in challenging sites — greatly enhancing BIDMC’s therapeutic capabilities,” states Chief of Radiation Oncology Mary Ann Stevenson, MD, PhD. “It opens a window of opportunity for patients with tumors of the brain, head and neck, spine, pancreas, lung, liver and prostate, including those previously considered untreatable.”
CyberKnife’s precise image-guidance system and multi-jointed robotic arm deliver concentrated beams of radiation from hundreds of angles to the tumor site, with pinpoint accuracy that minimizes radiation exposure to healthy tissue.
“The CyberKnife technology is going to attract people from all over the world seeking treatment,” says Lynn Marcinkowski, therapist manager, radiation oncology. A team of BIDMC radiation oncologists, physicists, radiation therapists and surgeons will devise individualized treatment plans for eligible patients and monitor their care.
BIDMC facilities staff and contractors worked intensely this past year to prepare the new Keith C. Field CyberKnife Center, which will house CyberKnife in the Sherman Building basement. The Field Center was made possible by the generous support of Miriam Adelson, MD, and Sheldon G. Adelson. Keith C. Field, a lung cancer patient at BIDMC, was the late husband of Gloria Adelson Field.
“The CyberKnife System is an incredibly attractive treatment option that offers patients enhanced comfort, shorter treatment sessions and improved quality of life,” says Josef Fischer, MD, chairman, department of surgery, and surgeon-in-chief. “This groundbreaking technology puts BIDMC at the forefront of innovative therapies.”
CyberKnife delivers radiation beams from hundreds of angles.
FACTS ABOUT CYBERKNIFE
The outpatient procedure does not require anesthesia or incisions or cause blood loss, and avoids many complications of conventional surgery
CyberKnife’s X-ray image cameras and computer technology are similar to that used for cruise missile guidance.
The system uses the body’s skeletal structure, rather than invasive metal frames and skull pins, to identify the tumor’s position.
When a patient breathes or moves slightly, the CyberKnife automatically adjusts itself.
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Meet the Red Sox Scholars of 2005
"I’m little, but I like to make a big impact on people,” says 10-year-old Shannon Cleary. Cleary is one of 25 Boston Public School students selected to the Red Sox Scholars Class of 2005. She joined her fellow scholars – all academically talented, financially challenged incoming sixth graders – for a formal introduction during a June 15 ceremony on the field at Fenway Park.
Red Sox Scholars take the field.
Each scholar will receive a $5,000 college scholarship from the Red Sox Foundation. BIDMC is the presenting sponsor of the program, which now includes 75 students – the majority graduates of the BELL (Building Educated Leaders for Life) academic enrichment program.
Along with scholarships, the Red Sox provide educational and social activities for the scholars. BIDMC matches each scholar with a medical mentor – health care professionals or administrative staff who meet with their scholars for medical career “Shadow Days” and field trips to BIDMC. For example, past scholars have shadowed staff in BIDMC’s Minimally Invasive Skills Laboratory, emergency department, NICU and radiology department.
During the welcoming ceremony at Fenway, each scholar was escorted to the baseline by a Red Sox player and their BIDMC medical mentor. The first two classes of Red Sox scholars, entering seventh and eighth grade this fall, also welcomed this year’s class.
“The most exciting moment for me was seeing the look of wonderment on the kids’ faces when meeting the players on the field at Fenway,” says BIDMC medical mentor Peter Gonzalez, MD, Healthcare Associates. “The Red Sox players were uniformly gracious and really seemed to enjoy the moment. My mentee, Starlin Cruz, confided that he hadn’t slept for two days in anticipation of meeting his idol, David Ortiz.”
Chosen by a panel representing the Red Sox, BIDMC and BELL, this year’s scholars include a future teacher of the deaf and a grade school baseball player who “enjoys playing second base like the Red Sox’ Mark Bellhorn.”
“Starlin recently arrived in Boston from the Dominican Republic and wants to be a police officer,” says Gonzalez. “My hope is that by participating in this program, Starlin can build on such an auspicious start in realizing his dreams.”
Want to be considered for future classes of mentors?
E-mail Judy Glasser at jglasser@bidmc.harvard.edu.
Photo by Julie Cordeiro/Boston Red Sox.
Meet this year’s Red Sox mentors
from BIDMC:
Douglas M. Beach, MD, pulmonary
Elizabeth Chaffee, RN, nursing
Allen Clark, genitourinary oncology
Geoffrey Cole, hematology/oncology
Peter Cousins, radiology
Joan Drevins, PT, CCS, rehabilitation services
Erin Goldblatt, OTR/L, neonatology
Peter Gonzalez, MD, HCA
Toby Grooms, medical specialties
Munish Gupta, MD, neonatology
Kathleen Hanlan, OTR/L, rehabilitation services
Julie L’Heureux, RN, nursing
Cindy Levine, MD, internal medicine, Chelsea
Mary Loveless, nuclear medicine
Jane Matlaw, community relations
Patricia Munguia, hematology/oncology
Lori Panther, MD, infectious diseases
Elizabeth Powers-Sinclair, neurology
Jacki Puma, PT, rehabilitation services
Vivian Sanchez, MD, surgery
Ken Sands, MD, health care quality
Joe Sheil, contracting
Mark Thall, MD, psychiatry
Susan Young, RN, NICU
Lisa Zankman, human resources