Medical Center | The Radiation
Center (T Wing) (6600) |
Architect's rendering of new Radiation Center, from Democrat and Chronicle, June 4, 1958, Page 1. |
The Radiation Center was built adjacent to O Wing in 1959 and included several state-of-the-art treatment machines. This facility is still used for research, while patient treatment was moved to a new Cancer Center that opened in 1980.
References
1958 "Radiation Center
to cost $400,000 Planned by UR," Democrat and Chronicle,
June 4, 1958, Page 1.
New Cancer Center
1960 "New
Hope," Rochester Review 21(3):3 (January 1960)
The almost one million people in Western New York have a new weapon
available in the fight against cancer that may be inflicted on a large
percentage of this population. The Radiation Center at Strong
Memorial Hospital of the University's Medical Center is one of the most
completely equipped facilities in the nation. Costing $400,000,the
Radiation Center is designed for the diagnosis, therapy, teaching and
research in the problems of cancer and related diseases. Radiation
may also be used to treat benign conditions, such as bursitis and
arthritis. The most modern radiation machines for the treatment of
disease have been installed, including two huge supervoltage X-ray devices
– a two-million electron volt Van de Graff generating unit, the most
powerful in upstate New York, and a Cobalt 60 rotational unit emitting
radiation of between one and two million volts. Each of the large
supervoltage machines is in a separate room with four-foot thick concrete
walls, and in each room there is a window through which
attendants may view the patient and the patient in turn may see the
attendants, eliminating the fear of being left alone that understandably
affects many patients. The windows, designed by the Corning Glass Works,
are three-tiered and 24 inches thick, and cost $5,000 apiece. The
big machines are designed to deliver greater dosages directly to tumors
more effectively and in a way that the patient can tolerate more easily,
with a resultant minimal damage to normal tissues. The Radiation Center,
housed in its own new building on the Elmwood Avenue side of the Medical
Center, also has two conventional orthovoltage 250 kilovolt range machines
and a 140 kilovolt superficial X-ray generator for treating superficial
lesions. The primary function of the Division of Radiation Therapy
is in the realm of clinical services for diagnosis and treatment.
The group will continue to supervise the use of radioactive isotopes in a
much wider scope in conjunction with other clinical departments in the
Medical Center. Almost every clinical specialty is now served daily
through clinical application of isotopes.
The Radiation Center at Strong Memorial Hospital was made possible by a
$203,200 grant to the Hospital by the John A. Hartford Foundation, Inc.,
for the purchase of equipment and payment of part of the $150,000
operating costs for three years. The University of Rochester provided the
new building and pays the balance of the operating expenses
1965 "Cobalt
Radiation Units: How Many Are Needed?" Democrat and
Chronicle, January 27, 1965, Page 6.
The University of Rochester Medical Center now is the only hospital in the
area possessing one of the costly devices, used primarily to treat cancer.
© 2021 Morris A. Pierce