EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14\/CBS4) \u2014 A major investment in cancer treatment technology is headed to El Paso, with federal funding aimed at helping patients get advanced care closer to home.<\/p>\n
U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar presented a $1.031 million check to support a cancer-fighting linear accelerator, known as a LINAC, for Texas Tech Health El Paso\u2019s future Fox Cancer Center. <\/p>\n
The presentation took place at the Medical Science Building II, Auditorium C, on the Texas Tech Health El Paso campus.<\/p>\n
Escobar was joined by Texas Tech Health El Paso leaders, including Dr. Richard Lange, president of Texas Tech Health El Paso; Dr. Eric Rohren, dean of the Foster School of Medicine; and Dr. Rajkumar Lakshmanaswamy, dean of the Francis Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. <\/p>\n
More than 3,200 El Paso County residents learn they have cancer each year. For many patients and families, a diagnosis has meant traveling hundreds of miles for advanced therapy. The $1.031 million in federal funding secured by Escobar is intended to help bring that level of treatment closer to home, officials with Texas Tech Health El Paso said. <\/p>\n
A LINAC delivers precisely targeted, high-energy radiation to tumors while protecting surrounding healthy tissue. The technology is used for advanced techniques including intensity-modulated radiation therapy and stereotactic radiosurgery. Physicians are expected to discuss how the technology will benefit cancer patients across the West Texas region.<\/p>\n
Texas Tech Health El Paso is building the Fox Cancer Center, a 356,000-square-foot, five-story facility at 300 Rick Francis St. The center is planned as the first comprehensive cancer care center in West Texas and on the U.S.-Mexico border, consolidating services under one roof including imaging, radiation, infusion, clinical trials and supportive care.<\/p>\n
Texas Tech Health El Paso serves 108 counties in West Texas and was established as an independent university in 2013. <\/p>\n
Over the past decade, it has graduated more than 2,600 professionals in medical, nursing, biomedical sciences and dental education. <\/p>\n
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