Archbold Medical Center| Archives Magazine | Summer 2018

14 ARCHBOLD MEDICAL CENTER were offered, along with over 40 health screenings, health fairs and education lectures. The year of the Gamma Knife In January 2003, the Leskell Gamma Knife arrived at the LHSOC, transforming treatment for brain cancer and benign malformations. “The Gamma Knife has changed our entire practice,” said Steven Johnson, MD, a radiation oncologist at the center. The Gamma Knife team performed 19 procedures that inaugural year, and in five years over 400 patients received this advanced form of treatment. Radiation oncologists Steven Johnson, MD, and David Saunders, MD, along with Archbold neurosurgeons Gerald Kadis, MD, and Craig Frederick, MD, formed the original Gamma Knife physician treat- ment team. The original Gamma Knife team also included physicist Ramesh Nair, PhD, and nurse Janet Collins, RN. “The Gamma Knife has given us many new treatment options,” said Dr. Kadis. “With the Gamma Knife, we can treat tumors that were formerly inoperable and impossible to reach due to their location. The technology allows us to quickly and easily treat multiple malignant tumors (brain metastases) in one session. We can also treat many non-malignant tumors without open surgery.” Prior to Gamma Knife, treatment for patients would have involved having the whole brain exposed to radiation, which frequently could produce unwanted cog- nitive changes, as well as hair loss not seen with Gamma Knife treatment. “With Gamma Knife, multiple lesions can be treated in one visit, and quite success- fully,” said Dr. Kadis. “The Gamma Knife has been a revolutionary technology for transforming how we treat patients with complex intracranial pathology.” 20 years of service and beyond In 2008, the LHSOC marked two decades of service and dedication to the region. In its 20th year, the center served over 11,500 patients and offered nearly 40 ser- vices throughout the region. As the celebration continued, ren- derings were created for a new, larger center needed to help meet the growing demand for cancer care in the south Georgia/north Florida region. On May 12, 2009, Archbold broke ground on the new Broad Street site of the LHSOC. In August 2010, the new 40,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art center opened its doors. Also referred to as the “New Home for Hope,” the new center boasted expanded waiting and registration areas, new patient support areas, 19 patient examination rooms, 22 infusion bays, two linear accelerators, and a designated Gamma Knife Center, all under one roof. A focus on technology, innovation and research In 2011, along with a new building, new technological advances emerged. Dr. Johnson and Archbold general surgeon Ed Hall, MD, were recognized as the first in the state and the second worldwide to revolutionize surgical treatment for lung cancer using mesh brachytherapy and the da Vinci surgical robot to treat early-stage lung cancer. In 2013, the center celebrated a decade of Gamma Knife treatment, and more than 1,200 benign and malig- nant lesions treated in approximately 750 patients from 55 counties and 10 states. The center also provided —Continued from page 13 In 2010, the state-of-the-art Lewis Hall Singletary Oncology Center opened, with expanded waiting and registration areas, new patient support areas, 19 patient examination rooms, 22 infusion bays, two linear accelerators, and a Gamma Knife Center, all under one roof. We’re celebrating 30 years of hope