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UConn Health Center now offers patients a revolutionary new cancer treatment, the TomoTherapy® Hi-Art® treatment system. The Health Center is the first facility
in Connecticut to offer this innovative new treatment to patients!
This exciting new advancement was made possible by a generous donation from Connecticut natives Carole and Ray Neag, who have a long history of support to the Health Center and the
university.
What makes the TomoTherapy system unique is its ability to:
- Acquire 3-D images of tumors before every treatment.
- Deliver precise treatments in rotating beams of radiation that constantly modulate to the exact size and shape of the tumor.
- Target large, small and multiple lesions.
- Minimize radiation to healthy tissue.
- Provide the most advanced and integrated cancer treatment system available today.
“This technology fits in perfectly with our mission and vision to provide state-of-the-art care to the residents of Connecticut and throughout the region,” explains Carolyn D. Runowicz,
M.D., director of the Carole and Ray Neag Comprehensive Cancer Center, chair of the National Cancer Advisory
Board and former president of the American Cancer Society.
“Precision and accuracy can make a big difference in treating some tumors that are adjacent to critical organs, such as the brain, head and neck, and prostate,” said Robert Dowsett,
M.D., chief of the Division of Radiation Oncology at the Health Center. The TomoTherapy system will be housed within the Health Center’s newly renovated, state-of-the-art Radiation
Oncology center.
Before a patient receives TomoTherapy, a detailed three-dimensional image is taken of the area being treated. The physician then uses special software to “paint” on the image,
identifying specific regions to receive radiation, and those areas to remain untouched.
Unlike previous technologies that use wide bands of radiation from a limited choice of directions, TomoTherapy uses rotating narrow “pencil” beams of radiation to treat the tumor from
all sides, with variable intensity.
The Neags say that their interest in TomoTherapy stems from Mrs. Neag’s radiation treatments, and their desire to put the Health Center at the forefront of cancer research and
technology.
Among their many contributions, the Neags gave $10 million for the cancer program at the Health Center in 2004. Named in their honor, the Carole and Ray Neag Comprehensive Cancer
Center’s ultimate goal is to create a world-class program that transforms cancer treatment. The new system furthers that goal. |
