New Technology and Treatments at Piedmont Henry Radiation Oncology
For Immediate Release
Contact: Michael Boylan, 404.414.9308 or Michael.boylan@piedmont.org
New Technology and Treatments at Piedmont Henry Radiation Oncology
Stockbridge (April 17, 2024) – Piedmont Henry Hospital has radiation oncology locations on its campus in Stockbridge, and in Griffin. These two locations provide high-quality, patient-centered care to thousands of area residents each year. Recently, the Stockbridge location added a new linear accelerator and a 4D CT with respiratory gating and breath hold technology, which allows them to offer a treatment for left-sided breast cancer that can reduce the risk of heart issues later in life.
“Deep inspiration breath hold, or respiratory gating, allows the treatment to match the patient’s breathing cycle, so that the linear accelerator only delivers treatment during a specified phase,” said Kim Neisler, M.D., medical director of radiation oncology at Piedmont Henry. “This is just one way we can design treatment for each patient individually.”
Nearly two-thirds of patients diagnosed with cancer are candidates for radiation therapy, which is the careful use of high-energy radiation to target tumors or diseased areas of the body. In addition to treating cancer, radiation therapy may also be used to shrink tumors growing against bones, nerves or organs, reducing pain; before surgery to reduce a tumor to make it more operable; or post-surgery to stop the growth of remaining cancer cells.
“We started 2024 by treating patients on our new Varian TrueBeam linac and offering deep inspiration breath hold radiation treatment to left-sided breast cancer patients,” said Mendy Whitworth, Manager of Radiation Oncology Operations at Piedmont Henry. “This treatment allows us to target and destroy the tumor cells in the breast while minimizing the radiation exposure to the heart.”
The Piedmont Henry Radiation Oncology team is also equipped to deliver High Dose Radiation (HDR), as well as Stereotactic Radiation Therapy (SRT). The additions in radiation oncology are just some of the changes at Piedmont Henry over the past year. The hospital moved their infusion center into a medical office building on Rock Quarry Rd., which also houses a medical oncology practice and cancer support services, and moved Wound Care to 150 Eagle Spring Ct, Suite B, just down the hill from the emergency department entrance. It is a larger space and allows for easier access for patients. It also led to the old Wound Care location being transformed to a 16-bed observation unit, which opened at the end of January.
To learn more about oncology services at Piedmont, visit piedmont.org/cancer.
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About Piedmont Healthcare
Piedmont is empowering Georgians by changing health care. We continue to fuel Georgia’s growth through safe, high-quality care close to home through an integrated health care system that provides a hassle-free, unified experience. We are a private, not-for-profit organization with more than 12,000 donors annually that for centuries has sought to make a positive difference in every life we touch in the communities we serve. Across our 1,600 physical locations we care for 3.7 million patients and serve communities that comprise 80 percent of Georgia’s population. This includes 23 hospitals, 65 Piedmont Urgent Care centers, 25 QuickCare locations, 1,875 Piedmont Clinic physician practices and nearly 3,100 Piedmont Clinic members. Our patients conveniently engage with Piedmont online, as they scheduled more than 515,000 online appointments and over 154,000 virtual visits. With more than 44,000 care givers we are the largest Georgia-based private employer of Georgians, who all came for the job, but stayed for the people. In 2023, Piedmont has earned recognition from Newsweek as one of America’s Greatest Workplaces for Diversity and also as one of America's Greatest Workplaces for Women. In 2022, Forbes ranked Piedmont on its list of the Best Large Employers in the United States. In addition, Piedmont provided nearly $360 million in Community Benefit in Fiscal Year 2022, including approximately $310 million in uncompensated care.
For more information, or booking your next appointment, visit piedmont.org.
