Gov. Phil Bryant on Thursday toured the first of its kind radiation therapy system in Mississippi – Anderson Regional Cancer Center’s new TomoTherapy Radiation System.

    President and CEO John Anderson said his staff was pleased Bryant decided to take a private tour of the facility with no advance notice on his schedule.

    “We were very happy to have the Gov. Bryant visit us and see how our cancer center will allow patients with cancer to stay close to home for treatment,” Anderson said.

    Anderson’s TomoTherapy System is one of only 13 in the nation and the only one in Mississippi. According to officials at the cancer center, the TomoTherapy System treatment should allow cancer patients a higher quality of cancer care and higher survival rates.

    Radiation Oncologist Dr. Scott Anderson said the system delivers treatments with increased speed and precision, while reducing radiation exposure to surrounding healthy tissue.

    “The TomoTherapy System’s unique design and capabilities give our team the ability to target tumors in ways never before possible and deliver aggressive, extremely accurate and individualized treatment for each patient,” Scott Anderson said. “We’re excited to offer our patients as part of our continued commitment to high quality patient care.”

    Anderson said the TomoTherapy System can efficiently treat large tumors or multiple tumors in different areas in the same treatment session.

    “The system enables patients with recurring tumors to receive additional radiation that would not have been performed with traditional radiation systems,” Anderson said. “Through are coordinated efforts we expect out outstanding survival numbers.”

    TomoTherapy can increase the chances of controlling a solitary pulmonary module from 45 percent to 70 percent. TomoTherapy radiation sessions are non-invasive and typically pain-free, Anderson’s cancer center officials said.