Photograph by Jonathan Pollock
Two local hospitals are making huge strides in the fight against cancer with state-of-the-art technology that’s the first of its kind in the region.
In May, Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine opened the Cancer Care Clinic, a 24/7 urgent-care facility built specifically for cancer patients. The addition allows patients to bypass the emergency room—and diseases they might otherwise catch there. Construction is also under way at Siteman on the Kling Center for Proton Therapy, which will use a form of radiation technology that shrinks tumors near vital organs and in pediatric cancer patients. The technology is available at only a handful of places in the U.S., but requires football field–size facilities. This $20 million addition will make Barnes-Jewish the first hospital in the world to house the therapy. “The advantage to proton therapy over the usual radiation therapy is that protons go a certain distance and then they stop, so you can dial in and avoid healthy tissue,” says Dr. Jeff Bradley, the center’s director.
That’s not the only notable cancer-fighting development at Siteman. Drs. Steven Strasberg and David Linehan, along with their colleagues, have pioneered a modification of the Whipple procedure, a method of treating pancreatic cancer, resulting in a significant reduction in fistulas, a common complication. The center annually performs about 125 Whipple procedures—a major surgical operation involving the pancreas, duodenum, and other organs—making it one of the nation’s highest-volume centers for the surgery; Siteman also offers clinical trials to pancreatic cancer patients. In addition, Dr. Bruce Haughey and colleagues at the center recently began using minimally invasive transoral laser microsurgery for mouth, throat, and neck cancer. The new procedure allows faster recovery, combats cancer more efficiently, and better protects mouth and throat functions. Its success prompted the team to host the first formal course in the United States about this surgery and to teach techniques for head and neck cancer to professionals around the world.
Treatment has also improved at Missouri Baptist Medical Center’s Cancer Center. Last March, the center added a $3 million Varian RapidArc Linear Accelerator, the first radiation therapy of its kind in the state. The machine targets tumors more precisely than previous technology and helps reduce side effects of radiation. “Now the patient will be on the treatment table for about five minutes as opposed to 30,” says Dr. Humberto Fagundes, a radiation oncologist. “It’s much more convenient for the patient, but also for the doctor.”
