For nearly 20 years, Griffin Health has provided women with breast cancer comprehensive, compassionate, and high-quality care close to home through the partnership of the Hewitt Center for Breast Wellness and the Center for Cancer Care at Griffin Hospital. Grounded in a long-standing commitment to clinically exceptional, accessible, and person-centered treatment, Griffin Health continually invests in innovations that improve outcomes while supporting the physical and emotional well-being of women and their families.

To help achieve this goal, Griffin seeks to bring advanced, person-centered radiation therapy technology to the Center for Cancer Care. This advanced technology will significantly enhance how breast cancer radiation therapy is planned and delivered, allowing physicians to target tumors with extraordinary precision while protecting the heart, lungs, and surrounding healthy tissue. Most importantly, it will enable women facing complex or recurrent breast cancer to receive convenient state-of-the-art radiation treatment, bringing calm and comfort during an anxious and sometimes overwhelming time.

Radiation therapy is a cornerstone of breast cancer treatment. It is provided to the majority of patients following lumpectomy and is also often used for individuals with advanced or metastatic disease. Breast tumors, particularly those in the left breast or near lymph nodes, require exceptional accuracy to minimize radiation exposure to the heart and lungs. Griffin Health is in the process of updating its radiation therapy system, making this a critical moment to invest in person-centered technology that dramatically improves outcomes and safety for breast cancer patients.

With this new technology, breast cancer patients will benefit from:

• Less waiting to start treatment – reducing anxiety after surgery and improving continuity of care
• Shorter, more comfortable treatment sessions – minimizing disruption to daily life
• Real-time tracking that adjusts for breathing or movement – essential for precise breast and chest wall radiation
• Enhanced protection of the heart, lungs, and healthy breast tissue – leading to fewer side effects and better long-term quality of life
• Expanded capability – to treat complex, recurrent, or metastatic breast cancer locally

Breast cancer remains one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers in Connecticut and the Greater Lower Naugatuck Valley. As breast cancer screening improves and survival rates rise, more women require radiation therapy for initial treatment and for recurrence or metastatic disease.

More than half of all breast cancer patients receive radiation therapy, and modern standards increasingly require image-guided, motion-managed precision to protect critical organs and preserve long-term well-being. At the same time, many women in our community face challenges such as limited transportation, financial strain, or caregiving responsibilities, making frequent travel to distant academic centers very difficult.

With your help, Griffin Health can launch this transformational initiative to redefine radiation therapy for breast cancer patients in our region. Together, we will bring next-generation radiation technology to our Cancer Center, called Brainlab’s Elements Treatment Planning Platform and ExacTrac Dynamic Patient Monitoring System, providing unmatched precision, adaptability, and comfort for women undergoing breast cancer treatment.

This upgrade represents a profound shift in what’s possible for breast cancer patients, especially those with left-sided tumors, lymph node involvement, oligometastatic disease, or those requiring re-irradiation after recurrence.