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Wood Co. Hospital announces advanced cancer treatment technology

The new technology will allow doctors to deliver higher doses of radiation to cancer patients with fewer side effects.

WOOD COUNTY, OH (WTOL) - The Wood County Hospital says that precision is key to fighting cancer.

The Maurer Family Cancer Care Center at Wood County Hospital now offers Real-time Position Management Respiratory Gating equipment.

This radiation equipment is precise enough to track a patient's breathing, and is offered in only a select number of facilities in the area.

During a patient's radiation therapy session, ,RPM turns the radiation beam on and off as the patient breathes to avoid the areas that the tumor moves through during treatment.

This allows doctors to deliver higher doses of radiation with fewer side effects.

"Tumors in the chest and abdomen move as the patient breathes. Respiratory Gating permits us to deliver radiation in pulses when the tumor is in the optimal phase of the respiratory cycle," said medical director Dr. Robert Lavey.

This technology is especially useful for lung, breast, esophagus, pancreas and stomach cancers.

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