St. Mary Medical Center Foundation

Cancer Care

Cancer. Few other diagnoses deliver such emotional impact. This is why St. Mary provides a safety net of services to care for our patients at the time when they are most vulnerable.

From the very first test through their final treatment, St. Mary offers patients a continuum of world-class care based on the most up-to-date detection and diagnostic imaging technologies and state-of-the-art radiation, chemotherapy and surgical treatments. Our holistic approach to healing the body, mind and spirit provides patients and their families with in-patient and out-patient support services. And our status as a center for clinical trials affords our patients access to revolutionary advances in fighting cancer right in their own community.

A Place to Heal

Every day, Dr. Robert Reilly is confronted with the harsh realities and suffering that his patients endure. As Medical Director of Cancer Research, he listens to them, encourages them and offers them and their families support during a physically and emotionally devastating time in their lives.

More important, he is able to offer them hope. As one of the region's most advanced cancer treatment centers, St. Mary Medical Center utilizes state-of-the-art diagnostic and treatment programs and offers patients opportunities to participate in important clinical trials.

With the addition of cutting-edge technology — High-dose rate Brachytherapy, PET/CT scanners, CAD RapidScreen Detection equipment and HI-ART Tomotherapy — Dr. Reilly and his patients have the reassurance of knowing that they have access to every possible advantage needed to conquer cancer. Renovations to the inpatient oncology unit offer patients and their families more comfortable accommodations and amenities which can have a positive impact during difficult times. When the time comes for consultations with patients and family, staff can chat with them in private new facilities equipped with the technology that allows everyone to view tests, scans and reports.

For Dr. Reilly, being able to provide state-of-the-art care for his patients — and for patients yet to be — is nothing less than extraordinary. He is humbled by the opportunity to bring healing to people and be able to alleviate their suffering. And he is proud of the Medical Center's commitment to setting world-class standards. Staying in the forefront of oncological developments requires a significant investment of resources — resources that are made available through the work of the St. Mary Medical Center Foundation.

Embracing Life and a Healthy Future

When his doctor told him that a CAT Scan and PET scan revealed a lymphoma, Todd Buch went home and said to his wife, "The doctor said I probably have cancer. What's for dinner?" With a wife and two pre-school age children to love and care for, he wasn't about to let non-Hodgkins lymphoma interfere with his life.

Taking the same let's-deal-with-it approach that made his business ventures so successful, he had one goal — get the best medical care so he could beat cancer. Familiar with St. Mary Medical Center's advanced oncologic services, his doctor made a few referrals and within days Todd was in the care of one of the region's most advanced treatment teams.

From the beginning Todd had confidence that he was receiving state-of-the-art care. The treatment plan was aggressive. When a mass was threatening his spinal cord, St. Mary oncologists began radiation treatments the next day. Todd also received intensive chemotherapy and still marvels at what he calls his "wonder drug," a promising new chemo treatment that his oncologist prescribed.

Through it all, Todd never missed work or suffered from the common side-effects of chemotherapy and radiation which he attributes to his oncologist's close monitoring and familiarity with the latest treatments. Today, Todd is healthy and his thriving business and loving family keep him on the go. He has put cancer in his past. And through his generous support of St. Mary Medical Center Foundation, he is planning for a healthy future — for his family and all the families of Bucks County.

Advances in Cancer Care: Stereotactic Radiosurgery

Stereotactic Radiosurgery (SRS), a sophisticated radiation treatment that SRS treats brain disorders with a precise delivery of a single high dose of radiation, is an important alternative to invasive surgery, especially for tumors and blood vessel abnormalities located deep within or close to vital areas of the brain.

St. Mary utilizes Framless SRS which monitors and compensates for movement, allowing the patient to lie comfortably during the treatment. It alleviates the need to have a frame attached to pins in the patient's head while still assuring absolute accuracy in treatment. St. Mary is the only cancer treatment facility to utilize this Frameless technology in the Delaware Valley area.

One SRS treatment has such a dramatic effect on the target zone that the changes are considered "surgical." Through the use of three-dimensional, computer-aided planning and monitoring, the treatment minimizes the amount of radiation that passes through healthy brain tissue, ensuring the best possible outcomes for cancer survival.