UPMC Horizon adding to cancer treatment at Farrell hospital

Feb. 21—FARRELL — UPMC Horizon is accelerating its cancer care, literally.

On Wednesday Horizon unveiled a $9.6 million project to add a new medical linear accelerator, which is a form of radiation treatment, at its Farrell hospital. The equipment will be housed in a 2,100-square-foot addition to the hospital.

When completed later this year, it will be the hospital system's second accelerator.

"Our patient volumes continue to increase and when demand for UPMC services rises, we prioritize and we respond to the needs of the community," Dr. Beth Piccione, Horizon's president, said at a sun-drenched outdoor groundbreaking ceremony.

A linear accelerator, also know as LINAC, uses high energy x-rays, or electrons, which are beamed into a targeted area of a patient's body to destroy cancer cells while avoiding nearby healthy tissue.

The program is run through UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, based in Pittsburgh.

"This radiotherapy system is designed to treat a variety of cancer tumors, wherever they are in the body, including lung, breast and prostate cancers, Dr. Heath Skinner, department chair, radiation oncology at UPMC Hillman, said.

Last year Horizon treated a little over 500 cancer patients, amounting to over 8,000 treatments. Cancer patients often require daily radiation treatments over multiple days.

Nationally, about half of all cancer patients receive radiation therapy during their illness, the National Library of Medicine's online site said.

"Operating a second LINAC to perform vital radiation oncology treatments will further increase access to lifesaving care for even more people in our community," Piccione said to over 50 people who attended the ceremony.

Among those attending was Joel Yuhas, who headed Horizon for two years from 2007 to 2009. He now serves as executive vice president of UPMC and president of the system's Health Services Division.

"It's a great pleasure to be back home here at UPMC Horizon," Yuhas said. "Close-to-home access to the nationally ranked, best-in-class medicine of UPMC Hillman Cancer Center is life changing."

The Farrell hospital's cancer center's service will cover all of Mercer and Lawrence counties and stretch into Ohio, Piccione said. Last month, Horizon began a $1 million expansion of the Farrell hospital's emergency room.

"This really impacts our commitment and involvement in the community," Piccione said of both projects.