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Saint Joseph Mercy Health System offers revolutionary cancer treatment with the addition of CyberKnife®

St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, Ann Arbor is the first and only Michigan hospital to offer advanced robotic radiosurgery to treat previously inoperable tumors

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – January 31, 2007 – Saint Joseph Mercy Health System (SJMHS) announced today the purchase of the revolutionary CyberKnife® Robotic Radiosurgery System. SJMHS is the first health care system in the state of Michigan to offer the CyberKnife System to patients seeking cancer treatment. SJMHS will have one of only 50 units nationwide. This advanced radiosurgery system non-invasively treats cancers anywhere in the body, procedures that are otherwise impossible with existing radiosurgical technologies which focus only on treating the brain. St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ann Arbor is among a growing number of elite hospitals in the country to incorporate the $4 million CyberKnife System as an essential tool in its cancer treatment process.

"The addition of CyberKnife to Saint Joseph Mercy Health System demonstrates our ongoing dedication to providing our patients the most advanced cancer treatment options available,” said Dr. Walter Sahijdak, radiation oncologist, Saint Joseph Mercy Health System. “The revolutionary treatment that is possible with the CyberKnife will allow patients to continue to live their lives without interruption and more comfortably while undergoing cancer treatment. Bringing the CyberKnife to Ann Arbor distinguishes our organization as a health care network that is at the forefront of technological breakthroughs transforming complex cancer care.”

One of the most innovative features of the CyberKnife technology is the capability of robotic radiosurgery to deliver targeted treatment to areas that move due to breathing, such as the lung, prostate, pancreas, liver, and kidney. It is the first system in the world that is specifically designed to treat tumors anywhere in the body with sub-millimeter accuracy, without limiting the patient’s mobility during treatment. Image guidance and computer controlled robotics combine to continuously track, detect and correct for tumor and patient movement throughout the treatment. Because of this approach, extreme precision and accuracy is possible without the need for a head or body frame as is required with other radiosurgery treatment systems.

The additional patient benefits from the CyberKnife System are significant. Many of the complications associated with conventional cancer therapies can be minimized or eliminated with CyberKnife treatment. It can be used for inoperable tumors, and the treatment is performed on an outpatient basis. In addition, CyberKnife can treat multiple tumors at different locations in the body during a single treatment session. Patients with cancer pain routinely experience dramatic relief after receiving CyberKnife treatments and have a shorter treatment time and faster recovery period than traditional methods.

“A patient’s level of comfort during and after treatment can mean all the difference between a good experience and a remarkable experience,” said Kathy Kasperek-Korelis, director of oncology, Saint Joseph Mercy Health System. “We are privileged to be the first in Michigan to offer the utmost in care and comfort with CyberKnife’s groundbreaking technology, benefiting patients all over Michigan and its surrounding states that until now haven’t had access to this level of cancer treatment.”

SJMHS will offer the CyberKnife technology to patients beginning in the spring of this year. The system will be located in the Saint Joseph Mercy Cancer Care Center in the newly expanded and renovated Radiation Oncology department.

About Saint Joseph Mercy Health System
Saint Joseph Mercy Health System is a health care network serving Washtenaw, Livingston, Jackson, Lenawee, Monroe, western Wayne and southwestern Oakland counties. It includes St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ann Arbor, Saint Joseph Mercy Saline Hospital and Saint Joseph Mercy Livingston Hospital in Howell. Combined, the three hospitals are licensed for 747 beds, employ more than 6,500 individuals and have a medical staff of more than 1,000 physicians. Saint Joseph Mercy Health System offers a wide array of services including cardiology, cancer care, women’s health, senior health, orthopedics and behavioral health.

St. Joseph Mercy Hospital provides medical residency training programs in internal medicine, transitional, surgery, OB/GYN and emergency medicine for 130 residents. 
www.sjmercyhealth.org.