MedStar Good Samaritan Offers Latest in Cancer Fighting Technology

BALTIMORE—MedStar Good Samaritan Hospital has become the first hospital in the state to offer the latest technology for delivering precision radiotherapy cancer treatment that enhances the ability to protect surrounding tissue, reduces the risk of side effects and improves outcomes. The new machine uses image guidance to shape radiation beams to precisely match the shape of the tumor, while delivering therapy in as little as five minutes.

Paul B. Fowler, MD, a board-certified radiation oncologist and chief of Radiation Oncology at MedStar Good Samaritan Hospital, compared the leap in technology to how laparoscopic techniques have revolutionized surgery. “It works at lightning speed compared to what we could do before,” Dr. Fowler said. “It can prevent radiation from reaching a part of the body that we don’t want to treat, with improved accuracy. The speed of treatment and the machine’s design significantly enhance patient comfort as well. It is truly revolutionary.”

The machine is the latest in robust offerings at the MedStar Good Samaritan cancer center, known as the MedStar Franklin Square Cancer Center at Loch Raven Campus. After a $1.75 million renovation, the center opened in last year with 16 oncology experts, a state-of-the-art infusion center, a newly renovated breast center, an onsite oncology pharmacy, a clinical trials program, and screening and prevention programs including 3-D mammograms, lung CT scans, and smoking cessation classes.

Dozens of patients have been treated with the machine at MedStar Good Samaritan Hospital since last October. MedStar Southern Maryland Hospital Center also began treating patients with its own machine in March. Oncologists from around the world have come to MedStar Good Samaritan Hospital to study the machine.

For more information on cancer services at MedStar Good Samaritan Hospital, please call 443-348-8366.

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About MedStar Good Samaritan Hospital
MedStar Good Samaritan Hospital is a 224-bed community teaching facility, located at the corner of Loch Raven Boulevard and Belvedere Avenue in northeast Baltimore. Since 1968, MedStar Good Samaritan Hospital has provided compassionate, high-quality care to the community. Recognized as a specialty center for rehabilitation, our services also include geriatrics, diabetes care, cancer care, emergency medicine, orthopaedics, vascular care, wellness, and hyperbaric medicine and wound healing. MedStar Good Samaritan is part of MedStar Health, a not-for-profit, regional healthcare system with 10 hospitals and more than 20 other health-related services in the Maryland and Washington, D.C., region.