Gilbert Padula, MD, radiation oncologist at the Lacks Cancer Center at Saint Mary’s Health Care, is passionate about his family, his work, and about promoting new ways to treat breast cancer. Recently he combined all three interests: on a vacation to Italy to visit family, Padula used the time as an opportunity to present the latest information on the MammoSite© Radiation Therapy System, which is a breast radiation treatment that works from the inside, allowing a higher daily dose of radiation used for a shorter period of time, reducing radiation treatments from five to seven weeks to five to seven days. Saint Mary’s Health Care is currently the only Michigan hospital which offers MammoSite© treatment in clinical trials.

On August 21, Dr. Padula presented a lecture on MammoSite© to the departments of Surgery, Radiation Oncology, and Medical Oncology at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Rome. His lecture was simulcast via satellite to other lecture halls around the country and was widely covered in Italian newspapers.

“The topic of MammoSite was very interesting to the audience, and to the Catholic University,” reported Padula. “In the region between Rome and Naples, they have been trying to do partial breast radiation therapy so the lecture was timely.”

Although he speaks Italian, Padula presented in English, in a lecture format with a PowerPoint. News coverage of the lecture included Italian National TV and channel TG3 based in Campobasso. Italy. Two separate newspapers also highlighted Padula’s speech, one with front-page coverage.

Padula has been asked to do an encore lecture, though no date or specifics have been finalized at this point.

“A hope for the future would be collaboration between Catholic University and Saint Mary’s Health Care,” he commented.

Padula’s next speaking engagement will be at the Michigan State Medical Society annual Meeting on the topic of Advances in Radiation Therapy and MammoSite©. It will be held October 23rd at the Somerset Inn in Troy.

Saint Mary’s Health Care is an integrated network of health care excellence offering a unique combination of capabilities to deliver a health care experience that is more complete and personally satisfying. Our commitment to offer the latest technology and most highly skilled physicians in a holistic, patient-centered environment has made us a progressive leader in cancer care, neuroscience, orthopedics, diabetes and endocrine care, kidney transplants, and integrative medicine.

The network encompasses more than 2,500 employees, a 336-bed, JCAHO-accredited teaching hospital, The Lacks Cancer Center, the area’s only dedicated cancer hospital, Saint Mary’s Southwest, The Wege Center for Health and Learning, the Center for Diabetes and Endocrinology, The Hauenstein Center housing the area’s most comprehensive neuroscience program, three fitness centers, five community outreach centers and affiliations with home health care, rehabilitation services, and the area's premier primary care network, Advantage Health Physician Network. Saint Mary’s recently was awarded the Governor’s Award of Excellence, the SCIP6 Commitment to Quality Award and named one of West Michigan’s 101 Best and Brightest Companies to work for five years running. Saint Mary’s is a member of Trinity Health, the country’s fourth-largest Catholic health care system.