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BioHouston Blog
St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital to Add CyberKnife System to Treatment Offerings
July 24, 2008
Accuray Incorporated a global leader in the field of radiosurgery, today announced that St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital in Houston has purchased a CyberKnife(R) Robotic Radiosurgery System to further expand treatment offerings for its nationally recognized NeuroScience Center program. The CyberKnife System will be installed in a newly constructed facility designed to expand the hospital's radiation oncology facility.
St. Luke's has been ranked by U.S. News & World Report as one of the nation's top 50 hospitals for a number of specialties, including neurology and neurosurgery. It is the only hospital in Houston, and only one of four hospitals in Texas, to be named a Neuroscience Center of Excellence by NeuStrategy, Inc.
St. Luke's will use the CyberKnife System primarily to treat vascular malformations and intracranial tumors, but it will give the hospital flexibility to treat tumors in the spine, lung, prostate, kidney and pancreas as well. Because the CyberKnife System combines robotics and sophisticated real-time imaging technology, it is capable of delivering high doses of radiation to tumors anywhere in the body with sub-millimeter accuracy. These capabilities eliminate the need for invasive head and body frames, which other systems require to immobilize the patient for tumor tracking. The robotic arm also enables the system to target tumors that are unreachable by other radiosurgery systems or surgery. As a result, the CyberKnife System offers new hope to patients who are considered inoperable, have surgically complex tumors, or are seeking an alternative to surgery.
Source: PR Newswire
M. D. Anderson Earns Top Ranking for Cancer Hospitals In Annual U.S. News & World Report Survey
July 10, 2008
The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center once again is the top hospital in the nation for cancer care, according to the U.S. News & World Reports annual “America’s Best Hospitals” survey.
This is the fourth time in the past five years that M. D. Anderson has achieved the lead ranking. It has been ranked as one of the top two hospitals for cancer care for 19 years since the survey began.
M. D. Anderson specialties earning national rankings also include ear, nose and throat (4); urology (9); and gynecology (16).
The U.S. News & World Report rankings are based on a reputation survey of board-certified physicians around the nation, patient data and a mix of care-related factors such as nurse-to-patient ratios, current technologies and services available to patients and the community.
The data gathered by U.S. News & World Report complements the wide range of quality and safety data that M. D. Anderson collects independently to measure, monitor and constantly improve hospital and clinic operations and the patient experience.
For example, in the last year, M. D. Anderson was accredited by The Joint Commission, an independent, not-for-profit organization that identified only five areas for process and program improvement. So few notations from the commission’s survey are considered outstanding for a large and complex medical center, said Thomas W. Burke, M.D., executive vice president and physician-in-chief. M. D. Anderson has been accredited by The Joint Commission, without interruption, since 1951.
In addition, M. D. Anderson’s patient satisfaction survey, a study conducted by an external expert on an ongoing basis, yielded exceptionally high marks in the last year, with an average 96.5 percent of patients surveyed reporting a positive experience with their care.
To save some patients from traveling to the Texas Medical Center, M. D. Anderson now has five satellite centers, four of which offer radiation therapy and one which offers radiation and a medical oncology practice. The radiation treatment centers are in Katy, Bellaire, The Woodlands and Fort Bend County. In addition, the M. D. Anderson Clinical Care Center in the Bay Area offers radiation treatment and medical oncology services as well as chemotherapy administration, a laboratory for blood work and a blood donor room.
M. D. Anderson also extends services to the underserved community by overseeing and staffing the oncology program at Lyndon Baines Johnson (LBJ) Hospital, a component of the Harris County Hospital District. Currently, there are 12 part-time clinical faculty members, 18 part-time medical oncology fellows and five research nurses who staff the oncology program at LBJ, at no cost to the county. The program, recorded nearly 6,000 patient visits in 2007 and treated 1,413 patients, entirely at LBJ.
M. D. Anderson continues as one of the largest cancer centers in the world, serving more than 85,000 patients last year, 29,000 of whom were newly registered that year. Many who come to M. D. Anderson care seek the latest therapies, diagnostics, surgical techniques and prevention strategies. More than 11,000 patients participated in clinical trials of potential new therapies, the largest such program for cancer in the nation.
M. D. Anderson employs more than 17,000 people, including more than 1,300 faculty. In addition, a volunteer corps of more than 1,500 people, many who are cancer survivors, contributes over 250,000 hours of service annually, equal to 120 full-time employees.
Patricia S. Ault to Receive Prestigious Nurse-Oncologist Award
June 13, 2008
Patricia S. Ault, MSN, RN, a nurse practitioner in The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center’s Department of Leukemia, is the recipient of the 2008 Ethel Fleming Arceneaux Outstanding Nurse-Oncologist Award.
Funded by The Brown Foundation, Inc., since 1982, the Arceneaux Award recognizes exceptional nurses at M. D. Anderson who are selected by a committee representing M. D. Anderson’s clinical faculty, patient care administration and nursing staff. Ault will accept a cash award of $15,000, a crystal plaque and a commemorative pin at 10 a.m. June 18 in the Frank E. Anderson Conference Hall, Rooms 1, 2, 7 and 8, in M. D. Anderson’s Main Building.
Describing herself as a “walking billboard for M. D. Anderson” and its public education and prevention services, Ault is eager to put her $15,000 prize money to work benefiting others. She is establishing a prevention clinic through a WeightWatchers® group that meets at her church. To encourage participants to follow through on their weight loss and health goals, Ault will reimburse their fees upon one year’s successful completion. In addition, during each participant’s one-year commitment, Ault will monitor blood pressure, check glucose levels and discuss cancer preventive measures with healthy lifestyle choices.
Ault came to M. D. Anderson at the beginning of her oncology career in 1992. In 1999, Ault began working with Jorge E. Cortes, M.D., professor of leukemia. She credits his support and encouragement throughout her professional advancement.
Ault became a nurse in midlife, enrolling in nursing school when her youngest child was in high school. A two-year degree at San Jacinto College led to a bachelor of science in nursing from The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and a master of science from Texas Woman’s University, where she is an adjunct faculty member. She received her Family Nurse Practitioner Certification from Texas Tech University Health Science Center. Over the years Ault has continued to further her education, most recently enrolling in the clinical doctorate of nursing program at UT Health Science Center-Houston.
Ault is recognized among the medical community for her work in clinical research and patient care. In 2007, for example, she was selected as an international ambassador delegate to South Africa for professional specialization in oncology nursing. In 1995, she received an Abbott Laboratory award for outstanding researcher of the year. She has made dozens of presentations and has published prolifically. Yet she says the Arceneaux Award is the “most humbling honor I’ve received in my professional career.”
President George W. Bush Names Waun Ki Hong, M.D., to National Cancer Advisory Board
June 12, 2008
President George W. Bush today appointed world-renowned medical oncologist Waun Ki Hong, M.D., professor and head of the Division of Cancer Medicine at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, to the National Cancer Advisory Board. The function of the NCAB is to advise, assist and make recommendations to the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services and the director of the National Cancer Institute. The NCAB may make recommendations regarding support grants and cooperative agreements, technical and scientific peer review, and functions pertaining to the NCI.
Since joining M. D. Anderson faculty in 1984, Hong has made seminal contributions to cancer medicine through his pioneering research in larynx preservation and chemoprevention in head and neck cancer. Hong, author or co-author of more than 660 scientific publications, has successfully translated numerous key research findings into effective clinical care during his 30-year career in oncology. He was the first to demonstrate the efficacy of retinoids in reversing oral carcinogenesis, and in preventing secondary primary tumors in patients successfully treated for cancers in the head and neck. When Hong began his research in the early 1980s, he was among just a handful of researchers exploring the concept of chemical intervention in the processes that lead to cancer, termed chemoprevention. Today, many scientists worldwide are pursuing chemoprevention studies for a number of disease, in part because of his innovative work.
A native of South Korea, Hong earned his medical degree from the Yon Sei University of Medicine in Seoul, Korea. He joined M. D. Anderson in 1984 as chief of the Section of Head and Neck Medical Oncology. Dr. Hong became chair of the Department of Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology in 1993 and became head of M.D. Anderson’s largest clinical division, the Division of Cancer Medicine in 2001. In 1996, he became the first M. D. Anderson physician to receive an American Cancer Society Clinical Research Professorship, a lifetime honor presented in recognition of his distinguished career. In 2001-2002, he served as president of the American Association for Cancer Research.
His many honors for outstanding achievements in clinical research and patient care include: the AACR’s Joseph H. Burchenal and the Rosenthal Foundation Awards; and the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s most prestigious award, the David A. Karnofsky Award.
MD Anderson: Reconnecting with Cancer Survivors
June 11, 2008
More people in the U.S. are living longer after a cancer diagnosis. For this increasing number of cancer survivors, living a better quality of life is just as important as living through the disease. Improving communication and acknowledging stress can enhance the quality of life of cancer survivors and those who support them.
A cancer survivor is commonly defined as anyone who has been diagnosed with cancer, from the time of diagnosis and treatment through the remaining years of life. M. D. Anderson uses the term “cancer survivor” to describe people who have been diagnosed with cancer and the people in their lives who are affected by the diagnosis, including family members, friends and caregivers.
Finding new ways to connect with a doctor or health care provider, spouse, caregiver, family members, friends and coworkers takes time and effort on both sides.
For cancer survivors, developing a dialog with a health care team member can help take away that fear of the unknown. A health care provider can help survivors develop a follow-up plan with a suggested schedule for exams and check-ups to screen for cancer recurrence, as well as diseases/side effects that may result from treatment.
Ways for friends, family members and caregivers to reconnect with survivors include:
Talking
Listening
Finding humor
Creating memorable moments
Touching
Sharing moments of silence
New and improved therapies are allowing an increasing number of people to enjoy a full life after cancer treatment. According to the National Cancer Institute, more than 10 million cancer survivors are alive in the U.S. today. About 14 percent of those survivors were diagnosed more than 20 years ago. Sixty four percent of adults diagnosed with cancer today can expect to be alive in five years.
Sammons Cancer Center Recognized for Highest Commitment to Clinical Research at ASCO
June 9, 2008
Award winners were selected based on a number of factors including patient accrual to clinical trials over a three-year period. Special consideration was given to practices that increased clinical trials participation among underrepresented populations as well as practices that used innovative techniques to overcome barriers to enrolling patients in clinical trials.
The US Oncology Research Network is an established community-based research operation specializing in all phases of cancer clinical trials. The research network currently has 595 physicians actively enrolling patients, 109 research sites, and is currently involved in 63 open research trials. The network has contributed to the development of 24 of 30 of the latest cancer-fighting drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use. Since 1993, more than 32,000 patients have participated in clinical trials managed by US Oncology Network practices.
University of Texas Health Science Center Wins $26 Million Award
May 29, 2008
A South Texas consortium led by The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio is set to receive a $26 million Clinical and Translational Science Award from the National Institutes of Health/National Center for Research Resources.
The funds will be used to help speed up biomedical breakthroughs to improve the health of the people in the region. The award will be used to establish the Institute for Integration of Medicine and Science at the Health Science Center and it will be the entity responsible for realizing the vision that optimal research will improve health.
Health Science Center officials say this latest award represents one of the most significant achievements in the history of the institution and San Antonio's biosciences community. Only 60 institutions ultimately will be granted Clinical and Translational Science Award status among 125 academic health science centers nationwide.
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