MultiCare brings technology to GH

Linear accelerator brings advancement in cancer treatment

Susan Schell

of the Gateway

It looks like something out of the Star Trek series. The gigantic upside-down L-shaped piece of equipment takes up a large portion of the room, but its job is to deliver a miniscule laser beam to a particular spot with pinpoint accuracy.

The linear accelerator is MultiCare’s newest piece of equipment for treating cancer in Gig Harbor. On its first day of use, Dec. 29, three patients were scheduled to undergo radiation therapy — two from Gig Harbor and one from Fox Island.

“It’s an exciting day,” said Dr. John Rieke. “We’ve been doing a lot of planning and a lot of work. The patients are ecstatic. Most of them are just starting treatment, and a small number are coming over from Tacoma. This is a twin of the equipment we have at Tacoma General.”

The accelerator is designed to deliver radiation to cancer cells with state-of-the-art technology. The patient relaxes on a gurney, which is wheeled underneath the machine.

“This can modulate a cross-section of an image before the start,” Rieke said. “The patient being treated can have a CT scan, which can align the actual organ instead of the patient’s body. This way, we treat less of the patient by making the beam smaller.”

David Nicewonger, administrator for cancer services, said if they had a patient with a tumor that moved, they could compare images and see that the tumor had shifted.

“Then the technician can realign the beam so we’re not missing it and hitting healthy tissue,” he said.

“We wanted to reduce the effects we used to have to live with, like with prostate cancer,” Rieke said. “Now we don’t have to treat anything outside the area being targeted.”

Candace Smith, RN, MSN and clinical director of adult oncology, said it’s an “exact science.”

“The size of the machine indicates how much technology is involved,” Smith said. “It’s amazing that something so big can deliver such a tiny bit of radiation. Within the head of this are thin sheets that can configure to the dimensions of a tumor and deliver the exact dosage of radiation.”

Rieke said there are fewer side effects when an organ can be targeted so precisely.

“This is the most sophisticated equipment in the country,” he said. “It has a vast computer with hundreds of interlock systems. This linear accelerator is equipped with Rapidarc — the new technology that was installed in Tacoma. This is truly the highest technology available in the world right here in Gig Harbor.”

The radiation lab is subterranean, so the surrounding hillside acts as a natural barrier against radiation exposure to the outside world. The treatment is computerized and monitored outside the room, which also protects the technician.

“The imaging can be monitored by a physician from any location,” Rieke said. “All of this is networked through MultiCare’s system.”

The new equipment is a step toward MultiCare’s approach of creating a facility where cancer patients can get treatment all in one spot, instead of having to jump all over town.

“We have full chemo infusion and medical oncology,” Rieke said. “With combined radiation therapy and a medical center, this truly creates a comprehensive cancer center in Gig Harbor. We have whole record imaging so people can have their hospital visits and have their files ready when they cross the bridge. It’s been a huge advantage.”

Berta Brynestad was the second patient to undergo treatment with the new machine.

“I’m so glad that placed opened up,” she said. “I just live down at the end of Point Fosdick. I’ve been going to the one in Tacoma for three weeks, and the first couple weeks we had all that horrible weather. I’m so glad I don’t have to drive down there any more.”

Brynestad also was able to keep her current doctor from Tacoma.

“It’s been really smooth ­— I like Dr. Singh,” she said. “He’s seeing patients one day a week in Gig Harbor. Most days I get there by 9 a.m. and I’m back in my car by 9:15.”

The office that houses the radiation lab is located through double doors directly off the lower level parking lot, so patients who may not be feeling well can have direct access without trudging through the rest of the building. The doctors’ offices are located upstairs in a unit so new, the walls are not completely painted yet.

Oncologist Lauren Colman has his office there.

“It’s so nice for the patients to be here and to be able to walk over and talk to them,” he said. “We have a pharmacist and a hematologist, and most routine tests can be done right here. We view images on the computer in the exam room with the patients. We can look at the results intently and even discuss it with another doctor, who can see the same image from across town. It’s like getting an instant second opinion.”

Smith said it’s unique to have that kind of full service.

“We have a clean room where patients can dress up, get in and get out,” Smith said.

“This is the highest standard of care,” Colman added. “It doesn’t get any better than this.”

When St. Anthony Hospital opens in March, it also will have a linear accelerator available for radiation treatments.

Reach Lifestyles Coordinator and reporter Susan Schell at 253-853-9240 or by e-mail at susan.schell@gateline.com.