FARRELL, Pa. – UPMC Horizon-Shenango Valley has added a new linear accelerator to its radiation treatment options at its UPMC Hillman Cancer Center.
The $9.6 million project included construction of a vault for the new, state-of-the-art linear accelerator – or linac – which emits a high-energy, external beam of radiation to precisely target cancer tumors wherever they are in the body, including the lungs, breasts and prostate.
“When demand for UPMC services increases, we prioritize and we respond to the needs of our community,” said Dave Patton, president of UPMC Horizon and Jameson. “Providing this second linac will increase access to the essential, lifesaving cancer care our community needs as residents continue to put their trust in the unique expertise of UPMC.”
The UPMC Hillman Cancer Center began serving the community more than 13 years ago, and the UPMC Horizon-Shenango Valley center is now one of 70 UPMC Hillman centers across Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, Maryland and in Italy, Ireland and Croatia.
When the local center opened in 2011, it provided 186 patient radiation oncology consultations and 4,160 treatments. In 2024, that number had substantially increased to 460 new patients and nearly 8,000 radiation oncology treatments.
The first machine at the center provided conventional external beam radiation therapy, but some types of cancer required patients to travel to Pittsburgh. The new Varian Trubeam Linear Accelerator will provide more access to a growing population of patients and expand the types of cancers treatable locally.
“Close-to-home access to the nationally ranked UPMC Hillman Cancer Center can be life-changing,” Patton said. “We live our UPMC mission by continually advancing services and increasing availability of our world-class care and treatments in all the communities we serve.”
Dr. Uzoma Iheagwara, a radiation oncologist at the cancer center said the new Varian Trubeam Linear Accelerator adds two specialized dynamics to treatments offered.
“We can provide stereotactic body radiation therapy that allows us to treat certain lung and pancreatic cancers, which may have spread to other areas of the body and are difficult to treat,” he said. “This system will also provide stereotactic radiosurgery, which is a minimally invasive procedure that makes use of a 3D system to better target cancerous and noncancerous lesions, including brain abnormalities, with high dose radiation with increased precision and accuracy.”
This latest $9.6 million investment is part of $150 million UPMC has invested over the past 25 years to elevate services at UPMC Horizon, including expanding UPMC Hillman Cancer Center locations to Greenville, New Castle and Farrell.
Pictured at top: The new Varian Trubeam Linear Accelerator at UPMC Hillman Cancer Center.