PETOSKEY - Rick Wendland has had quite the long journey over the past year and a half.

Wendland, who moved to the Harbor Springs area just before the COVID-19 pandemic's onset, was diagnosed with prostate cancer after receiving a physical - his first in a year and a half -when he was living and working in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

"I ended up at MD Anderson (a University of Texas cancer center) in Houston where I was also living before that, got in with the top genitourology people there and was diagnosed, tested and went through with the removal of the prostate, which was cancerous, through a radical robotic prostatectomy."

Wendland said following the operation, he went to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago as doctors searched for cancer cells which were possibly left behind.

"They found some," Wendland said. "I was living here (in Harbor Springs) and they said they'll take care of you up there at McLaren."

On March 8, Wendland was the first patient at McLaren Northern Michigan to be treated with the hospital's newest radiation oncology technology called TrueBeam Linear Acceleration, a high-precision cancer treatment which delivers more precise radiation dosage more quickly.

"I swear I've had a good as experience as I've had at two world-renowned hospitals here," Wendland said. "Great people, great service and the whole key to this was to kill those last few cells, and go on living."

Stefano Peca, a medical physicist at McLaren Northern Michigan, said there about 5,000 of the TrueBeam linear accelerators in the world, and the machine now at McLaren Northern Michigan is the "latest and greatest with all the bells and whistles.

"In particular, it has more energies we can choose from to treat different types of cancers in different parts of the body," Peca said. "So basically more arrows in your quiver. It's faster and can deliver radiation up to four times the speed of conventional radiation delivery."

After working with the machine for months with commissioning, testing and verifying integrity and safety, the TrueBeam machine was put to work on Monday following a ribbon-cutting ceremony by Wendland and a host of oncology and administrative staff at the hospital.

"This is a really exciting and innovative type of treatment to bring to a small, rural town and area in Northern Michigan and it is the latest and greatest in term of standards of care of treatment, and it provides an opportunity to provide high quality care, "said Katrina Bezak, regional director for Karmanos Cancer Institute at McLaren Northern Michigan.

Bezak noted the project began around five to six years ago when the health care system acknowledged some of their older machines needed to be transitioned out.

"We looked at how do we stay on that cutting edge line of therapy," Bezak said. "We looked at what technology was out there and where the trends were in cancer research and patient care and decided we were going to operationalize TrueBeam. We worked hand-in-hand with the company, Varian, which made the machine to help with installation and product management was run by Ken Bannister and we've had the support of our executive team and foundation, which helped raise funds to operationalize this project."

Peca said the new machine offers two key accessories including a technology known as HyperArc, which allows doctors to treat brain metastases (lesions) with much greater accuracy.

"This is for patients with cancer that has already metastasized and those lesions cause symptoms both physiological and cognitive, and that's really important for the quality of life in these patients," Peca said. "But with HyperArc, we will be able to treat up to 15 small brain metastases while sparing the rest of the brain, which allows lengthening of life and improved quality of life while at the same time being allowed to deliver a high dose."

Another new technology called Identify, Peca said, will make patient check-in and identification much faster and seamless, while the technology also offers an augmented reality and surface guidance set of cameras which provides a map to whether patient needs have been met or not, including proper positioning during treatment.

"It will make an incorrect setup almost impossible," Peca said. "It also will be able to account for motion during treatment and will allow us to see the surface at all times and account for a more precise dose to the area where there is a tumor and spare the healthy organs.

"Our patients are going through a journey with is unpleasant, and they have many ups and downs and is painful," Peca said. "We really owe it to them on our part to make it as painless and smooth as possible."

Dr. Isaac Kaufman, a radiation oncologist at Karmanos Cancer Institute at McLaren Northern Michigan, said he's excited to offer the quality of care they'll be able to now offer patients here locally, noting many of the newer patient techniques will be beneficial to patients.

"The combination of all the new features will allow us to target with greater precision and accuracy and also in a more timely manner," Kaufman said. "Our first patient (Wendland) talked a lot about how comfortable he feels about being treated here. He's familiar with other cancer centers and knows where we've made all the effort to have the latest and greatest technology, so instead of having to go somewhere else to get his treatment, he can be treated comfortably at home with the added confidence he can have the same treatment and treatment capabilities he could find anywhere else."

Wendland said his journey with prostate cancer will come to an end this week, and he's excited to have been the first patient to utilize the new TrueBeam technology.

"People from all over can come here and to have that option and not have to travel ... we considered moving to Chicago for eight weeks, so to have it here, thank God," Wendland said.

"It's been a big, big bonus."

Companies

Industries

Healthcare
      Healthcare Facilities
            Hospitals
      Medical Devices
            Medical Treatment Devices
                  Radiosurgery Devices
Manufacturing
      Medical Device Manufacturing
            Medical Devices
                  Medical Treatment Devices
                        Radiosurgery Devices

Places

Subjects

Science and Technology
      Technology
            Technology Trends
Business and Commerce
      Product Research and Development
            New Products
Health and Wellness
      Medical Conditions and Diseases
            Cancer
      Treatments and Therapies
            Radiation Therapy
Trading Impact
      Business Operations
            New Products