In November 2006 UW Cancer Center Riverview became the first in central Wisconsin to offer TomoTherapy, the most sophisticated and effective image-guided and intensity-modulated radiation therapy that exists today.  Invented by scientists and oncologists at the world-renowned University of Wisconsin Paul P. Carbone Comprehensive Cancer Center, TomoTherapy uses CT scanning plus highly targeted beams delivered from all possible angles to attack tumors and cure cancers with unprecedented precision. Because each beam angle includes only a small amount of radiation, the body’s healthy tissue is unharmed, with virtually no pain or side effects from the treatments.

Riverview’s TomoTherapy unit is one of only seven in the state and one of the few stand-alone units in the world. It is the only unit using remote cancer treatment planning and as such is developing the model for small cancer centers anywhere in the world to provide the very latest, most sophisticated care. The TomoTherapy program is led by Dr. James S. Welsh, radiation oncologist. The first physician in the world to use TomoTherapy in patient care and one of the world’s foremost researchers in the use of IMRT, Dr. Welsh is asked to present his work at conferences worldwide.

Patients at UW Cancer Center Riverview receive care from the best medical team assembled at any small hospital cancer center in the world.  The physicians are Dr. Welsh, the center’s medical director of radiation oncology, and Dr. Ron J. Kirschling, medical oncologist/hematologist and medical director of medical oncology. A Wisconsin Rapids native and Assumption High School graduate, Dr. Kirschling previously served as section chief of oncology with St. Luke’s Oncology and Hematology Associates in Duluth, Minnesota, a clinical assistant professor at the University of Minnesota-Duluth Medical School, and president of the Minnesota Society of Clinical Oncology.

Also caring for patients is Michelle Peterson, RN, MSN, a family nurse practitioner specially trained in oncology. Michelle has experience as a staff nurse, nursing supervisor, nursing unit staff educator, and urgent care nurse practitioner.

Medical Physicist Yi Rong, PhD, works with Dr. Welsh to provide medical physics consultations, develop patient radiation therapy treatment plans, assure dose delivery accuracy of the cancer center's helical TomoTherapy radiation therapy, and collaborate on radiation oncology research.

The cancer center's medical staff is joined by exceptional medical physicists, radiation therapists, registered nurses and medical assistants together with leading professionals in Riverview Hospital’s Surgery, Imaging, Laboratory, Pharmacy and Nutrition departments. TomoTherapy in combination with a world-class medical team means UW Cancer Center Riverview patients receive the best care and treatment available anywhere.

Click here for more information on TomoTherapy.

Click here for the latest information on breast cancer- Dr. James Welsh

Talk to your doctor about the cancer care available at Riverview or call for more information: UW Cancer Center Riverview, 715/421-7442.

Chemotherapy Infusion Area	Dr. Ron Kirschling, medical oncologist, meets with a patient prior to a chemotherapy treatment.
Shown with Riverview’s TomoTherapy unit are, (back, from left) Vicki Mullins, radiation therapist, Brenda Coates, registered nurse, (front, From left) Rebecca Adkins, radiation therapist, and Dr. James Welsh, radiation onclogist.
Ron J. Kirschling, M.D. Medical Oncologist/Hematologist Board Certified in Medical Oncology and Hematology, Dr. Kirschling earned his bachelor’s degree at the U.S. Air Force Academy, his medical degree from the Medical College of Wisconsin, and completed residencies at the renowned Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. He returned to his home town, he said, because medical and research advances have allowed cancer care and treatment once found only at major academic medical centers to be offered at a community cancer center such as UW Cancer Center Riverview. James S. Welsh, M.S., M.D. Radiation Oncologist Board Certified in Radiation Oncology, Dr. Welsh also has a master's degree in molecular biophysics and biochemistry. Trained at the renowned Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, MD, and a clinical associate professor of human oncology at the University of Wisconsin, his research focus includes prostate cancer, prostate bachytherapy ("seed implant") and lymphomas. He also specializes in novel applications of radiotherapy, including TomoTherapy, IMRT, radiosurgery and radiopharmaceuticals for cancer therapy.         Michelle Peterson, RN, MSN Family Nurse Practitioner Michelle Peterson joined UW Cancer Center Riverview as a family nurse practitioner in September 2007. Michelle assists Dr. Welsh and Dr. Kirschling in caring for patients. Michelle earned an associate degree in nursing from Southwest Wisconsin Technical College in Fennimore, a bachelor of science degree in nursing from Viterbo University in LaCrosse, and her master of science in nursing degree as a family nurse practitioner from Concordia University-Wisconsin. Michelle has been with Riverview Hospital since July 1989, serving in various positions, including staff nurse, float nurse, nursing supervisor, nursing unit staff educator and urgent care nurse practitioner. She serves on the Mid-State Technical College Associate Degree Nursing Adjunct Faculty and is a member of the Wisconsin Nurses Association and the American Nurses Association. Michelle is certified as a family nurse practitioner by the American Nurses Credentialing Center. Yi Rong, PhD Medical Physicist Yi Rong, PhD joined UW Cancer Center Riverview as a medical physicist in July 2008. Dr. Rong works with Dr. James Welsh, radiation oncologist, to provide medical physics consultations, develop patient radiation therapy treatment plans, assure dose delivery accuracy of the cancer center’s helical TomoTherapy radiation therapy, and collaborate on radiation oncology research. A native of China, Dr. Rong earned a bachelor of science degree in electronics from Peking University in China and a PhD degree in medical physics from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. In addition to providing medical physics support at UW Cancer Center Riverview, Dr. Rong is an assistant professor in the Department of Human Oncology at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health.

Breast Cancer Support Group:

This group meets the second Tuesday of every month (except June, July, August & December) from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on the lower level of Riverview Hospital. No reservations are needed.

For more information on this and other cancer support groups in South Wood County, please call UW Cancer Center Riverview at 715/421-7442.