WILLMAR — As doctors work to treat cancer patients, medical technology has advanced. One recent development has made its home at CentraCare (Wilmar Cancer Center) in the form of a new linear accelerator.
A linear accelerator is a machine that doctors can use to target cancer growth with radiation. Wilmar Cancer Center had an older version of the machine, but modern technology allows for more precise treatment.
CentraCare will be showing off the new machine at an open house on Thursday, April 11th.
“When an electron accelerates through a pipe and hits a heavy metal object at right angles, it emits radiation. When it comes, there’s a leaflet there that can move in the beam of radiation. Because it moves, we modulate the radiation to actually shape and bend it, as opposed to the old-fashioned way of just creating a box or a field that covers an area,” Dr. Todd Speer said at the open house. .
Dr. Speer specializes in medical oncology and radiation oncology and was one of the featured speakers at the open house.
Linear accelerators can narrow the area that the radiation hits, shaping the treatment area and avoiding affecting healthy tissue around the cancer. Even if the target cells move within the body, the machine and the bed the patient lies on can be readjusted to align the treatment area with the cancer cells.
Contribution / Centra Care
Construction on the project has been ongoing since May last year. Concrete walls between 3 and 7 feet thick had to be installed to contain the radiation inside the treatment rooms. The project used a total of 900 cubic yards of concrete and was built as an expansion of CentraCare (Willmar Cancer Center), part of the larger Rice Memorial Hospital at 301 Becker Avenue SW in Willmar.
Since construction was completed, doctors have been running tests on the machines to make sure everything is working properly before starting the actual treatment. A total of 13 weeks will be spent on final installation, testing, and calibration. The first treatment is scheduled for April 29th.
“Typically, the daily fee is in the 20 yen range. We have 20 patients a day. I think we do about 4,500 or more (visits) a year. And that’s all that matters. “These patients are not unique. Some patients receive 40 treatments, some patients receive 10 treatments,” Speer said.
Treatment with this machine can typically take around 15 minutes, with the patient lying on the slab and staring at the ceiling. To better accommodate patients, the ceiling was decorated with blue sky lighting among the leaves and branches.
Contribution / Centra Care
“Patients come in here alone for 15 minutes. The treatment doesn’t take that long, but it does require imaging and positioning,” said Conrad Mitzel, director of CentraCare’s Wilmar Cancer Center. said. Some movements, most of which can be explained, but many movements, such as the patient arching his back, cannot be explained. ”
“I remember when we installed the new linear accelerator about 13 years ago. It’s great because it’s a storage facility and we can treat patients here during that time,” said Mike Schramm, president. Wilmar at CentraCare.
A new linear accelerator was first discussed years ago, before the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, and when city-owned Rice Memorial Hospital was part of CentraCare under a lease agreement. It was even before he became.
During that time, much planning, financing, and construction took place. The fundraiser raised $1,000,000 for him, according to CentraCare.
Funding for the machine came in part from the 2022 CentraCare Foundation Gala, an annual event with a long history of raising money to improve care across the hospital.
The gala, formerly an activity of the Rice Health Foundation, has raised more than $3.8 million over the past 25 years, according to a September post on the CentraCare Foundation Gala website.
Levi Jones is a business reporter for the West Central Tribune. After growing up in the Twin Cities, Jones studied journalism and media communications at Hamline University. Since graduating in 2020, Jones has worked as a reporter covering everything from sports to politics.
