When facing a cancer diagnosis, all of the moving parts can be overwhelming. Having all the services you need in one place can help. In part, that is why Porter Regional Hospital opened a new PET/CT scanner in the hospital’s Cancer Care Center in Valparaiso.
The PET/CT Scan offers state-of-the-art technology that will help physicians diagnose cancer and map an immediate treatment plan for patients. It is the latest addition to the comprehensive care of Porter Regional Hospital’s Cancer Care Center, which includes services such as infusion therapy, radiation oncology, medical oncology and hematology care, surgery care, and more.
“We had a PET/CT Scan located in Chesterton in a stand-alone office for over 11 years,” said Sean Dardeau, Market CEO of Northwest Indiana and CEO of Porter Health Care System. “We’ve now brought it into this building where many of our specialists are - including oncologists, pathologists, general surgery - to support a comprehensive center integrated into one location for our patients.”
The project was the fruition of many different teams and individuals, including the medical staff at Porter Regional Hospital, contractors, and designers. At the unveiling, you could feel the excitement in the air as administrators, physicians, nurses, technologists, therapists, and other staff gathered to celebrate the culmination of the year-long project, and the beginning of a new era in cancer care for Porter Regional Hospital and the patients they serve.
Dardeau began the festivities with a few remarks about the project and the significance of the new technology. Jeffrey Quackenbush, M.D., Radiation Oncologist, also discussed the advantages of the PET/CT services.
“We will now be able to add lung and other parts of the body to the stereotactic program,” he said. “For early lung cancers, we used to have to do 6 to 7 weeks of radiation therapy, but with the stereotactic program, we can do three to five treatments.”
“In past treatments, we would have to take out half of the lung and treat it, but now we are just treating a very, very small area,” Dr. Quackenbush said. “It is far and away better than what it used to be.”
Dr. Vivek Mishra, M.D., Interventional Radiologist at Porter Regional Hospital, echoed earlier sentiments and emphasized how crisp the PET/CT scan images were.
“This brings the latest and the greatest PET technology to the hospital,” he said. “You can fuse PET and CT images and it helps with treatment planning for radiation treatments. It has better resolution, so the images are better and they give us a better picture.”
The open house-style event featured tours of the entire Cancer Care Center, including the new PET/CT suite, and refreshments and food.
For more information or to schedule at PET/CT scan that your doctor has ordered, call (219) 983-9399. For more information about Porter Regional Hospital, please visit www.porterhealth.com
