Gamma Knife Described
September 17, 2006
By: Stephen Kent
Programs
Sept 19: Chuck Brooks presents the updated Strategic Plan.
Club Announcements
Program Policy Committee to meet next week, Sept 19, 2006, to discuss policies concerning programs dealing with fund raising.
Every Member bring a Guest. Gena Gates proposed to the club that every member make an effort to bring a guest at least once a year. This will spread the Rotary story and will likely result in some new members.
Group Study Exchange - Outbound. Applications are being taken for non-Rotarians between the ages of 25 and 40 who would like to be join the Group Study Exchange team going to South Africa. Connie Switzer from the Bay City club has applied to be a team leader.
International Night is October 12. Buy your tickets soon. If you can't attend, give your tickets to a friend or prospective Rotary member.
Auction items are needed. Click here to
download donation form PDF.
Please turn in your tickets by October 1 so the Doubletree can be given a head count for the dinner. If you are a patron or sponsor and do not plan to use all of your tickets, please consider donating the extras to the club. We will invite guests in your name.
Dictionary Project: If you'd like to deliver dictionaries, please see Chuck Cusick.
Congratulations Rob Clark on the birth of your second son!
Last week Dennis Ouillette, Gamma Knife Coordinator at Midland's MidMichigan Medical Center, presented a talk on the Gamma Knife being used in Midland.
The Gamma Knife is a specialized X-ray machine designed to treat delicate and hard to reach brain tumors. The theory is that by imaging the tumor and then directing many low intensity x-rays, from many angles, the individual x-ray dosage is low but the point at which the beams intersect the dosage is multiplied dramatically. The method allows pin-point accuracy for treating tumors without harming adjacent tissues.
The Gamma Knife patient is fitted with a special helmet then placed in a chamber that looks much like a CT scanner. The treatment is silent and comfortable and lasts from 10 minutes to an hour. Multiple treatments are given over a period of days or weeks to shrink the tumor.
The process is relatively new, having been introduced only a few years ago. In those years it has become the preferred treatment for the class of tumor that it was designed for, small ones that are difficult to reach with traditional surgery.
Since installing the machine in Midland, the team has treated over 420 patients. This year they anticipate doing over 180 procedures. Midland is one of the smallest and most rural settings for this technology.
For more information visit
www.midmichigan.org/gammaknife.
RotaryBayCity.org Rotary Club of Bay City Web Site
eClub-One:
Members with internet connections are encouragedto visit eClub-One monthly for a makeup. To get makeup credit you need to fill out the makeup form on that site. Print the acknowledgement for you receive and turn it in to receive credit. Be sure to enter our club's district number (
6310) on that form.
Click this link to open eClubOne in a new window:
www.rotaryeclubone.org.
The Bay City Rotary Club meets at Noon each Tuesday at the Lumber Barons resturant on the West Side.
Rotary Club of Bay City Web Site
District 6310 meeting schedule