Zion, IL


Half of all patients diagnosed with cancer today in North America receive radiotherapy at some stage. During the next 20 years, global cancer incidence will double* to 20 million new cancer patients annually. And cancer will, unfortunately, become the leading cause of death in many populations.
    There is a growing need for more radiotherapy instrumentation-particularly linear accelerators, the superior technology as recognized by the World Health Organization. Varian Medical Systems has dedicated itself to bringing this technology to academic centers, community hospitals, and underserved regions everywhere.

    *Porter, A, et al, A Global Strategy for Radiotherapy: A WHO Consultation. Clinical Oncology 11 (1999):368-370.

VariSource, Varian's high dose rate brachytherapy system, delivers a controlled dose of radiation directly to the cancer site with computer precision, William Reinka's therapy included brachytherapy and IMRT.

When William Reinka discovered he had prostate cancer at age 78, his local urologist suggested that he wait and see how the disease would progress. "But I didn't want to sit around and wait for the cancer to grow," Mr. Reinka says. So he turned to the Internet, helped by his daughter, who has a Ph.D. in public health.
    He found that improved diagnostic techniques over the past 25 years had shown the disease to be far more common than previously thought. He also learned that prostate cancer patients now have several treatment options, often used in combination: surgical prostate removal, radiation therapy, brachytherapy, hormonal therapy, and even watchful waiting.

"We wanted the best radiation
therapy center in our region,
and we were looking for such
a system to install in
a community hospital."
    Dr. Bradley Kramer,
    Midwestern Regional Medical Center,
    Zion, Illinois

William Reinka, left,
and Dr. Bradley Kramer
    "I read about IMRT, a new method with minimal side effects, and I discovered that Varian had an excellent instrument," says Mr. Reinka. He also discovered Dr. Bradley Kramer, Medical Director of Radiation Oncology at the Midwestern Regional Medical Center in nearby Zion, Illinois. Midwestern is one of the first community clinics to provide SmartBeam IMRT. Until recently, this advanced therapy has only been found in university or large, urban hospitals.
    Dr. Kramer agreed with Mr. Reinka's treatment choice. He offered Mr. Reinka a regimen of external beam radiation using a combination of SmartBeam IMRT and brachytherapy, in which radiation is delivered internally through catheters. Compared to standard external beam radiation treatment, SmartBeam IMRT causes less damage to the surrounding tissue, hopefully decreasing the risk of impotence and injury to the adjacent bladder, rectum, and intestine.
    "IMRT may allow physicians to re-treat a patient with radiation using a more focused treatment, whereas this may not have been possible with standard conformal radiation therapy," says Dr. Kramer. He projects an expansive future for IMRT in prostate and other cancer therapy and praises Varian Medical Systems as his partner in therapy. "IMRT is probably the best way currently to deliver conformal photon irradiation, targeting the tumor more precisely."
    As for Mr. Reinka, 30 days after IMRT treatment his PSA result had dropped to near zero, down from a high of 7.1 six months earlier. And just recently, he turned 80.