Shore Regional Cancer Center was the beneficiary of the Memorial Hospital Auxiliary’s 25th Annual Tree of Lights fundraising campaign. Through the sale of lights which decorated the hospital’s holiday tree, the Auxiliary raised $7,500 for a new quality assurance radiation monitoring system for the Requard Radiation Oncology Center. This instrument is a fundamental part of the process of delivering radiation therapy to cancer patients.

The quality assurance radiation monitor is used by specially trained staff at the Requard Radiation Oncology Center to check the amount of radiation being generated from the machine that is used to treat cancer patients. The monitor also measures the shape and energy of the radiation beam that will penetrate the targeted tumor. All of these measurements must be accurate to ensure that treatment that is precise for each patient.

“By law we are required to take daily measurements that validate the performance of our two linear accelerators, the machines we use to deliver radiation treatments for cancer patients,” Phillip Sawyer, MS, lead medical physicist for the Requard Radiation Oncology Center. “Every morning, before we treat the first patient, we take a series of technically complex measurements to ensure that treatments are safe and effective for each person who comes to our center.”

Brian Leutner, director of oncology services for Shore Health System, adds, “We are most grateful to the Auxiliary for choosing Shore Regional Cancer Center to benefit from the Tree of Lights campaign. Their generosity has enabled us to upgrade our current quality assurance monitors with more sophisticated equipment, enabling us to maintain the highest level of patient care.”