Radiation Oncology Updates

With native Brocktonian Mark Sinesi, MD, PhD., at the helm as medical director, Caritas Good Samaritan Medical Center opened its new cancer center on December 15, 2008.

The opening of the center completes the circle of comprehensive care that cancer patients and their families can receive at Caritas Good Samaritan Medical Center. The new cancer center, which will specialize in radiation treatment, is located at 818 Oak Street on the main medical center campus, and offers state-of-the-art technology in a convenient setting close to home. The center will operate in partnership with Alliance Oncology.

“Radiation oncology is a very technology-driven medical sub-specialty. This facility is a wonderful, state-of-the-art resource for residents in southeastern Massachusetts,” Dr. Sinesi states. “Technology allows for treatments that are more effective and less invasive than in the past. As technology advances, treatments become more effective with fewer side effects.”

Caritas Good Samaritan Medical Center offers a multidisciplinary, full range of services for the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation, and follow-up of cancer.  These services are available on-site and/or at the Goddard Campus Surgi Center. The medical center also offers a hematology clinic for the diagnosis and management of various benign and malignant conditions of the blood.

“We are proud to bring this quality of cancer care to our patients in the communities that we serve,” said John Holiver, president of Caritas Good Samaritan Medical Center.

The equipment at the Caritas Good Samaritan Cancer Center is state-of-the-art. The Linear Accelerator offers both intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and image guided radiation therapy (IGRT), technology that allows the clinical team to both image and treat patients in the same frame of reference, at the time of treatment. This results in higher clinical confidence, enabling more aggressive treatment of tumors while minimizing the potential damage to healthy surrounding tissue.

Dr. Sinesi has been recognized as one of the top doctors in his field. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Brown University in Providence, R.I., a Ph. D. from Temple University in Philadelphia, and an MD from Boston University. He has dedicated his career to radiation oncology and to providing patients with compassionate care.

Working with Dr. Sinesi will be G. Stephen Brown, MD. FACR, FASTRO. A Professor of Radiation Oncology at the Eastern Virginia Medical School, Dr. Brown received his B.A. in zoology from U.C.L.A. and his M.D. at the University of Ottawa, Faculty of Medicine.

His extensive experience covers a broad spectrum. Dr. Brown is a former associate director for the division of Cancer Treatment, Radiation Research Branch of the National Cancer Institute and was the associate director for Radiation oncology at the university of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center Physicians Network and Outreach corporation and has been a consultant to the Cancer Department of the World Health Organization.

Dr.  Brown was also in the first group of Fellows of the American Society of Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology in 2006 and has participated in numerous national cancer group studies. He has authored many papers on cancer and a textbook on Cancer of the Cervix.

Eric Wojcik, RHIT, CTR, has been appointed as the new Director of Oncology at Caritas Good Samaritan Medical Center.

Caritas Good Samaritan Medical Center is accredited by the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer as a Community Hospital Comprehensive Cancer Program.  Cancer program activities are overseen by a Cancer Care Committee and include weekly Oncology Conferences, a Cancer Registry, a Quality Management Program, and a Community Outreach Program that is actively involved in improving the health of our local community.

The state-of-the-art cancer center includes a linear accelerator- equipment that precisely focuses intense radiation on the cancerous area- and a CT scan simulator for treatment planning. The new center also includes a dedicated ambulance entrance for patients who arrive for treatment via ambulance or chair cars from nursing homes or other long-term care facilities. The Medical Center has also expanded its parking to provide additional ample, free parking for patients and employees.

The Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons recently awarded a Three-Year Approval with Commendation to the cancer program at Caritas Good Samaritan Medical Center.