Support Services at Hoag Empower Cancer Patients

More Than 200 Patients Treated with ViewRay MRIdian® Linear Accelerator

The ViewRay MRIdian® linear accelerator is the most advanced radiation treatment available in the United States. In combination with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the ViewRay linear accelerator provides clinicians with real-time, high-resolution images of a patient’s tumor during treatment. If a tumor shifts due to movement caused by a patient’s breathing or other organs, radiation delivery stops to avoid radiating healthy tissue. This level of adaptive precision allows Hoag clinicians to deliver higher, potentially more effective doses of radiation while sparing healthy surrounding tissue and decreasing side effects. Through the generosity of donors Dean and Gerda Koontz, Hoag was the second in California to acquire the MRIdian and 16th in the nation. The Dean and Gerda Koontz Radiation Oncology Center at Hoag is the first and only center in Orange County to offer this advanced radiation oncology, which has now served over 200 patients at Hoag.

“The ViewRay MRIdian machine is an amazing new addition to Hoag’s cancer center. I have been able to deliver high-dose radiation treatments to patients while greatly sparing the surrounding normal critical structures. Because patients’ internal anatomy changes from day to day, the patients who get treated on this machine essentially get a revised plan for each treatment based on how their anatomy looks that day.”

– Danielle Mungo, BA, BS, RT(T), Lead Radiation Therapist, Hoag Family Cancer Institute

Scan the QR code to watch grateful patient and three-time cancer survivor Laurie Paolone’s journey through cancer treatment at Hoag with the ViewRay MRIdian® .