http://www.wtam.com/cc-common/news/sections/newsarticle.html?feed=122520&article=8662584

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2011/06/improved_technology_helps_make.html

June 2, 2011

One of every seven cancer patients spends more than 20 percent of his income on health care and insurance, according to a new study from federal researchers….”This paper confirms previous reports that the out-of-pocket burden of cancer care can be substantial,” said Dr. Neal Meropol, the chief of the division of hematology and oncology at University Hospitals Case Medical Center and Case Western Reserve University. Meropol said that newer cancer-fighting agents can be extremely expensive…

http://www.postchronicle.com/news/health/article_212367793.shtml

May 18, ‘11
If all goes as planned come 2014, Northeast Ohio residents will have ready access to the latest in radiation therapy treatment for cancer. On Tuesday, University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center announced it will open Northeast Ohio’s first proton therapy center, a $30 million investment that will be a mix of capital, bonds and philanthropy. The treatment delivers radiation to hard-to-reach cancer tumors more accurately and efficiently than conventional radiation therapy, and with fewer toxicity and harmful side effects. Proton therapy uses a powerful beam of protons that targets and matches treatment to the shape of a tumor. As much as 50 to 70 percent more normal tissue surrounding a cancerous tumor remains untouched with proton therapy than with traditional radiation therapy. Proton therapy is used to treat malignancies such as certain brain, head and neck and pelvic cancers and some prostate cancers. Seidman’s proton therapy center is expected to treat between 300-400 patients each year. Currently there are only nine centers in the country.  ”The small number of existing units are used quite a bit for pediatric cancers in certain locations and some adult cancers that are hard to reach,” said Seidman President Nathan Levitan.

http://www.cleveland.com/healthfit/index.ssf/2011/05/uh_plans_30_million_proton_the.html

Abbott (NYSE: ABT) announced it has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for the XIENCE nano™ Everolimus Eluting Coronary Stent System for the treatment of coronary artery disease in small vessels. XIENCE nano, which is based on the same platform as the XIENCE V® Everolimus Eluting Coronary Stent System, offers physicians in the United States a new option for treating patients with coronary artery disease in vessels as small as 2.25 mm in diameter. “The treatment of small vessels is often complex and associated with higher rates of complications compared to larger vessels,” said Marco Costa, M.D., Ph.D., professor of medicine, director of the Interventional Cardiovascular Center, and director of the Center for Research and Innovation, Harrington Heart & Vascular Institute, University Hospitals Case Medical Center, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, and principal investigator of the SPIRIT Small Vessel clinical trial. “I am confident that the highly deliverable XIENCE nano stent, with its thin struts and effective everolimus-eluting platform, will help physicians treat their patients who have coronary artery disease in small vessels.”

http://www.medilexicon.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=226368