News Releases

Southwest Houston Access to World's Most Advanced Cancer Treatments

Houston, Texas, March 6, 2004 – Every year an estimated 23,321 more Houstonians are diagnosed with cancer. Allied with the southwest Houston community in its battle against the deadly disease is Memorial Hermann Southwest Hospital and new radiotherapy systems that are improving patient comfort and cure rates.

The new SmartBeam® IMRT (Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy) is successfully being used to treat different types of cancers, including prostate, breast, lung, pancreatic, head and neck by precisely focusing the powerful beams to target tumor cells, virtually eliminating damage to surrounding healthy tissue.

“With IMRT, we can deliver a more powerful and uniform dose of radiation to irregularly shaped treatment targets. It greatly improves our ability to eradicate the tumor,” says Arthur Hamberger, M.D., medical director of Radiation Therapy at Memorial Hermann Southwest Hospital. “This state-of-the-art technology is a powerful tool in our cancer-fighting arsenal.”

Fighting cancer in concert with the advanced IMRT is a key player, the hospital’s Varian Clinac® medical linear accelerator. More than nine tons of sophisticated technological muscle, the linear accelerator uses microwaves to generate high energy X-rays, then rotates around the patient to deliver the treatments from numerous angles. Meanwhile, every time the angle changes, the shape of the radiation beam adjusts so that it always conforms to the three-dimensional shape of the tumor.

Recently, the comprehensive cancer program at Memorial Hermann Southwest Hospital received the highest possible approval from the Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons.

Memorial Hermann Southwest Hospital is located at US 59 and Beechnut and offers medical center quality services in a suburban setting. Valet parking and other conveniences are available.

For more information, contact Media Relations.