Viva la Tech Revolution
November 2007
We have seen many exciting advances in the medical treatment of cancer over the past few decades. At the same time, however, a quiet revolution has been waged in the area of technology and it’s spreading to Salem.
Twenty-five years ago Oregon boasted a handful of linear accelerators; treatment planning was done using fluoroscopic images and the physicians’ best guess about tumor location, translating from scans and descriptions in op reports into grease pencil marks on low-resolution plain films. Treatment calculations were done by hand.
Today, thanks to Buck Rogers–style imaging modalities and new treatment technology, guesswork and fuzzy images are a thing of the past.
Similarly, surgery has evolved from incisions that look like zippers to tiny ports for minimally invasive surgery and now robotic surgery in selected cases. None of this technology—the da Vinci robotic system, TomoTherapy, or PET/CT scans, for example—comes cheap; each piece of equipment carries a seven-digit price tag.
Nevertheless Salem Hospital, in conjunction with the Salem Hospital Foundation, plans to have all three modalities on-site within the next 12 to 18 months.
Of course, most new equipment arrives at the hospital through the usual budgetary process; but other acquisitions, such as digital mammography and the robotic surgical system, come through the generosity of local citizens who support the Salem Hospital Foundation.
Fred and Eleanor Lamport, civic leaders during the mid- and latter decades of the twentieth century, left the foundation a $1 million bequest, restricted to capital projects.
Since the 1980s the gift has grown sufficiently that the foundation’s board of directors wrote a $1.9 million check to Intuitive Surgery.
The Lamports’ generosity probably brought the robot to Salem several years sooner than would have been possible through the usual channels.
The Clara Graham Fund has directly benefited oncology patients for many years by providing assistance for end-of-life care such as pain medication and travel expenses for appointments.
We’re fortunate to live and work in a community that recognizes the value of philanthropy and the opportunity to improve the health of the entire community.