Cancer Care Center
American College of Surgeons' Designation

Latest In a Series of Innovative 'Firsts'

Battle Creek Health System’s designation as a Community Hospital Comprehensive Cancer Program by the Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons is the latest in a series of important health ‘firsts’ for our community. Since the early 1900s, that is how it has been in Battle Creek thanks to the excellence, energy, and exceptional dedication of many people, both professional and volunteer. Some of the firsts include:

The Cancer Detection Center of the local Cancer Society was created in 1947 and was the only one operated entirely by volunteers. Any resident of Calhoun County who was not already under a physician’s care could receive a complete cancer examination for a minimal charge, or no charge if he or she was unable to pay for the exam. Such services continue today.

The first Central Cancer Registry in the United States was created in Battle Creek in 1949. This registry created a mechanism for hospitals to record, compile, and analyze information about the types of cancer appearing in the county, the treatment given, hospitalization patterns, and survival rates over a period of time after treatment. This database was, and continues to be of enormous importance in the ongoing quest to overcome cancer. People came from as far away as Australia to study the procedures developed in Battle Creek, and, in 1959, the executive vice president of the American Cancer Society praised the local chapter saying that volunteers here had “…made Battle Creek the nation’s leader in communities of comparative size.”

Battle Creek was one of the first communities to learn about and to use the ‘Pap’ smear, a technique for detecting cancer of the cervix, developed by Dr. George Papanicalaou in the 1940s. The Pap smear is now a standard cancer-screening procedure nationwide.

More than ‘firsts’ in the health field have continued to distinguish Calhoun County over the years. Just since the early 1900s, for example, our community of health professionals has been recognized for several more achievements including:

• BCHS received approval as a Community Hospital Comprehensive Cancer Program. This means that an adult cancer patient can receive from The Cancer Care Center every service he or she will need and in the process, the Center will exceed stringent quality standards. To receive this approval, The Cancer Care Center at Battle Creek Health System had to undergo a rigorous evaluation by a team from the American College of Surgeons and satisfy four requirements: (1) have an active multi-disciplinary cancer committee proving leadership, (2) maintain a lifetime cancer registry on each patient, (3) offer a monthly patient-oriented cancer conference program, and (4) complete patient-care evaluation studies twice annually. As an approved program, The Cancer Care Center can share expertise and data with other approved centers. And having the designation means the Center meets the policies of insurance companies who require that patients receive treatment only at approved facilities.

• Battle Creek Health System’s linear accelerator is among the first in the nation located above ground, a decision made for the comfort of the patient, not the convenience of the hospital. Because of the amount of physical plant construction, which must be done to house a linear accelerator, most are placed below ground and patients must make an often oppressive-feeling journey through a tunnel-like maze to get to the unit for treatment. Battle Creek’s linear accelerator has been placed above ground in a friendly airy and bright environment that evokes positive emotions important to healing.

• Battle Creek Health System is a fully participating member of the Grand Rapids Clinical Oncology Program (GRCOP). This membership is important because the Grand Rapids program is one of about 50 community centers throughout the U.S. funded by the National Cancer Institute to perform cancer research. Membership gives BCHS physicians access to nationally recognized studies in cancer research from early diagnosis to late-stage treatment. The Grand Rapids affiliation also gives BCHS membership in the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project and Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG). The Southwest Oncology Group is the largest cancer research group in the nation. BCHS is participating in breast and prostate cancer prevention research and research on secondary prevention after surgery for early stage colon cancer.

• The BCHS Radiation Oncology unit is one of only 25 beta test sites around the world to pioneer a three-dimensional imagery process used in conjunction with a Huestis Compuformer, a system which compensates for body contours and better distributes radiation. This capability is especially important in the treatment of breast cancer. The nearest facility to Battle Creek able to use this technology is in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

• The BCHS Breast Cancer Tumor Board brings together a team of physicians to discuss each patient’s case before treatment – something not commonly found at community hospitals. Large hospitals in bigger cities, particularly those with teaching programs, often have physician teams to collaborate on patient care, but Battle Creek’s Breast Cancer Tumor Board is one of the first of its kind for a community of our size. The team approach to treatment ensures that each patient is considered as an individual and the radiation therapy, chemotherapy, surgery, and spiritual/psychosocial resources brought to each case are based on the patient’s personal needs.

• The world’s most sophisticated radiation therapy, Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT), came to Battle Creek in 2002. IMRT is a breakthrough innovation that uses computer technology to target and direct radiation beams more directly to the tumor. More cancer-killing energy reaches the tumor – with less damage to surrounding healthy tissue.

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