BCC Donates Radiation Treatment Machine

by | January 16th, 2023 | News

Bismarck Cancer Center Donates Radiation Treatment Machine to those Fighting Cancer in Ukraine

The Bismarck Cancer Center (BCC) is helping provide cancer relief locally…. and now in Ukraine.

BCC discovered Radiating Hope, a non-profit program that helps treat those battling cancer in low-income countries. Radiating Hope’s mission is to improve cancer care, specifically radiation oncology care, around the world. When BCC realized they could participate in the program, they jumped at the opportunity.

As part of BCC’s long-term planning, the goal was to have three specialized matching radiation machines. In the summer of 2021, as part of the Center’s expansion, BCC added an Elekta Versa HD, which features next-generation technology designed to enable complex radiation therapy with extreme accuracy. Later that year, one of the existing machines was upgraded to match the latest Versa machine. Currently, BCC is updating its third machine, which presented the opportunity to participate in the program.

“It’s inspiring that we can work with Radiating Hope to make this donation to Ukraine to help those who wouldn’t be able to receive cancer care,” said Melissa Klein, Radiation Therapy Manager.

BCC teamed with machine manufacturer, Elekta, to make the donation a reality. Elekta covered the cost of the dismantling of the machine. This was the first linear accelerator (treatment machine) that Elekta has been able to facilitate a donation. “BCC’s willingness to support cancer care across countries aligns with Elekta’s mission,” said Carlos Castilleja, Executive Vice President Regions America.

The treatment machine has been disassembled and will travel to North Carolina, where it will be later shipped to Ukraine.