POCATELLO — The Portneuf Cancer Center has further modernized its facility after acquiring a new state-of-the-art linear accelerator machine called a Varian TrueBeam that helps doctors deliver high energy radiation very precisely for the treatment of cancer.

Previously the cancer center would occasionally have to send some patients to other facilities in the state or, more frequently, down to the Huntsman Cancer Institute in Salt Lake City. The addition of the linear accelerator means more patients will be able to be treated at the Portneuf Cancer Center.

“It allows us to do the stuff we’ve been doing for the last decade even better,” said Michael Callaghan MD, medical director of the Portneuf Cancer Center. “There are imaging capabilities on the machine which are better and improved, so we can see what we’re doing. But it’ll also allow us to do some treatments and what we call stereotactic radiosurgery, which is treatment of lesions of the brain where you get very high doses in a single treatment, which is something that previously we’d have to send patients out for. (The linear accelerator also allows for a) specialized treatment for prostate cancer called stereotactic body radiotherapy.”

According to Callaghan, the goal of radiation is to treat the cancer while trying to minimize the damage to the normal tissue around it. Much of the linear accelerator’s technology is computer driven, so as computers have gotten smarter over the years, they have been able to deliver more accurate and more complicated treatments. The new accelerator also generates superior imaging with lower doses of radiation, which makes the treatment time faster and safer for patients.

The new technology will allow the Portneuf Cancer Center to hold onto more patients. Before the acquisition of the linear accelerator, the center could approximate 95 percent of what the Huntsman could do. Local cancer patients will now be able to receive treatment in Pocatello instead of traveling to Utah or beyond.

Additionally, the Portneuf Cancer Center has brought on board two new highly skilled oncologists. Dr. Calvin Rock, a new graduate from the Huntsman specializing in radiation oncology, will be joining the team along with Dr. Gwendoline Fonebi.

Both the Portneuf Cancer Center, located adjacent to Portneuf Medical Center, and the Pocatello-Chubbuck Chamber of Commerce are inviting the community out to a ribbon cutting event at noon Tuesday at the center to celebrate the acquisition of the linear accelerator and other improvements.

Light refreshments will be served and the center will unveil the new addition to its building which houses the Varian TrueBeam linear accelerator. Those in attendance will be able to see the new technology up close and interact with the cancer center’s doctors and staff.

Over the next several months the cancer center will be rolling out additional treatments such as a surface guide technology that utilizes video, allowing the staff to more precisely provide cancer fighting treatment.

“We’re not staying static,” Callaghan said. “Our next endeavor in the years moving forward is to expand the cancer center even further for medical oncology and infusion services.”

To learn more about the Portneuf Cancer Center, visit Portneuf.org/cancer.