OSF HealthCare St. Mary Medical Center held a blessing and dedication of the new radiation oncology services at 3375 N. Seminary St. on the OSF St. Mary campus on Wednesday, December 13. 

The blessing was held in the lobby of the OSF Medical Building on the East side of the building.

OSF St. Mary is pleased to announce that radiation oncology services for patients with cancer will begin in January.

OSF is committed to providing the highest quality cancer care for residents in the communities we serve. The linear accelerator will be used for external beam radiation treatments for cancer patients. The high-energy X-rays, or electrons, are focused on a patient’s tumor. The treatments are less invasive, destroying the cancer cells while protecting the surrounding normal tissue.

The first phase of construction to install a temporary radiation oncology unit will be completed before the end of the year. This system will be in place for two years until the permanent system is installed.

The combination of the linear accelerator in Galesburg and the OSF HealthCare Cancer Institute currently under construction in Peoria on the campus of OSF HealthCare Saint Francis Medical Center will broaden oncology services to patients across Illinois. 

The OSF Cancer Institute will offer proton beam therapy and brachytherapy as well as an infusion center, patient education and support spaces, and a full range of cancer-related services.