2022 Medical & Dental Directory | 27
'Like a family'
Cancer Center prevails through trying times
By Kim Hasty | Photography by Tony Wooten
I
n the more than three decades of its
existence, Cape Fear Valley Health's
Cancer Treatment and CyberKnife
Center has undergone tremendous
growth and changes. Those changes
include an expansion of the original
treatment facility at Cape Fear Valley
Medical Center, as well as opening
a cancer treatment center at Health
Pavilion North off Ramsey St. and, most
recently, offering medical oncology
treatments at Cancer Center at Central
Harnett in Lillington.
There's that state-of-the-art CyberKnife
system itself, a contraption mounted
from a robot that, against a backdrop
of star-studded skylights, looks like
something out of a science fiction
movie. But the robotic guidance allows
oncologists to deliver radiation with
pinpoint accuracy to the site of tumors
while avoiding healthy surrounding
tissue. There are the multitude of options
and improvements in treatments and
technology.
There's the satisfaction of having been
among the leaders in the evolution
of breast cancer treatment and other
cancers. The addition of dieticians
and social workers who help patients
navigate every challenge. The
accreditation by the American College
of Surgeons and commendation as
an Academic Comprehensive Cancer
Center.
But it all comes down to one common
goal that hasn't changed through all
the years and all the advances since the
center first opened in 1988.
"This is one of the kindest places ever,"
said longtime resident Betty Grady,
sitting in the radiation oncology waiting
room.
The state-of-the-art
CyberKnife allows
oncologists to deliver
radiation with pinpoint
accuracy to the site of
tumors while avoiding
healthy surrounding
tissue.
