WASHINGTON “  Today, Congressman John W. Olver (D- 1st District) announced that he has secured $1 million in federal funding for a Linear Accelerator at the Burbank Hospital Cancer Center in Fitchburg, Massachusetts.  The earmark was included in the FY Š00 Energy and Water appropriations bill under the Department of Energy°s Biological and Environmental Research (BER) account.

Congressman Olver is a member of the House Appropriations Committee and included the earmark in the Appropriations bill which was signed into law by the President on September 29.

œThis million dollars is an important step to providing a complete medical, surgical and radiation Oncology program to the residents of north central Massachusetts,” Olver said.  œThis comprehensive center will  provide accessible cancer treatment to this growing region, and sick patients will no longer have to travel as far as Worcester for radiation treatment.”
The Health Alliance Burbank Hospital is developing a regional Cancer Center to provide medically underserved residents of north central Massachusetts access to radiation therapy, chemotherapy, diagnostic testing, and patient education and counseling services.

Currently, Health Alliance Burbank Hospital provides chemotherapy but is not equipped to administer radiation treatment.  In fact, there are no radiation Oncology facilities in the north central region of Massachusetts, so patients must commute long distances, either to Worcester or Boston every day for 5-7 weeks for radiation therapy.  In order to provide radiation therapy at the new Cancer Center, Burbank Hospital needs to install a modern Linear Accelerator at the facility.  An Accelerator is the primary treatment device used in modern radiation oncology and will enable the Center to provide state-of-the-art cancer treatment for underserved residents in the region.

œIn order to sustain this level of quality in north central Massachusetts, I will continue to search for additional federal funds that can help our local health care systems in Massachusetts remain top-notch institutions,” Olver said