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 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 four in the state, 75 in North America and 100 in the world. One of the few stand-alone units in the world, it is the only one 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, and Dr. Ron J. Kirschling, medical oncologist/hematologist. 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.

The two physicians are joined on the cancer care team 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, from left, Dr. James Welsh, radiation oncologist, Jeff Limmer, chief medical physicist, and Lori Smith, executive director of UW Cancer Center Riverview.
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.

Breast Cancer Support Group:

This group meets the second Tuesday of every month 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.