Purdue dedicates state's first radiation therapy unit for small animals

WEST LAFAYETTE, IN - 11/9/06 - Purdue University officials recently dedicated Indiana's first radiation therapy facility to treat cancer in small animals as veterinarians throughout the region are booking its first patients.

The ceremony for the Linda and William Fleischhauer Radiation Therapy Facility took place adjacent to the entrance of the Small Animal Hospital at Purdue's School of Veterinary Medicine, one of only 28 such schools in the nation. The facility, funded by private gifts and university funds, is named for the Lafayette and Naples, Fla., couple who gave $1 million in support of the nearly $2 million cancer unit on the southeast side of Lynn Hall, 625 Harrison St.

"The Fleischhauers' decision to put their faith in this project, will make a tremendous difference for the School of Veterinary Medicine and for animals with cancer and their owners," said Purdue President Martin C. Jischke. "Now that the facility is fully operational, we can thank these generous donors for giving us the only place in Indiana that offers this type of treatment. In addition to helping animals suffering from this disease, the facility will allow our faculty to conduct research that will lead to better understanding, treatment and prevention of similar cancers."

The Fleischhauers have been in the student housing business in West Lafayette for 30 years. They also own a home and commercial construction business in Florida.

Elikplimi Asem, interim dean of the veterinary school, said that the unit is a logical complement to the Purdue Comparative Oncology Program, started in 1979.

"We are training veterinary oncologists of the future at the same time that we are helping pet animals right now," Asem said. "In addition, specific forms of cancer in pet animals can very closely mimic those same forms of cancer in humans, so there's a tremendous opportunity for comparative research."

The facility adds a critical mode of cancer treatment to Purdue's resources in the field of comparative oncology, which is the study and treatment of cancer in pet animals that leads to better understanding, treatment and prevention of cancer in both humans and animals. Wallace B. Morrison, director of the radiation therapy unit, said the facility allows Indiana veterinarians, as well as those in adjoining states, to refer cancer patients to Purdue.

"Previously these animals and their owners would have to travel as far as Illinois or Ohio to get the kind of treatment we can provide with our linear accelerator, which targets cancerous tissue with highly focused radiation," Morrison said. "It's a better situation for both patient and caregiver."