Architect's rendering of new Radiation Center, from  Democrat and Chronicle, June 4, 1958, Page 1.

The Radiation Center was built adjacent to O Wing in 1959 and included several state-of-the-art treatment machines.  This facility is still used for research, while patient treatment was moved to a new Cancer Center that opened in 1980.

References
1958 "Radiation Center to cost $400,000 Planned by UR," Democrat and Chronicle, June 4, 1958, Page 1.
New Cancer Center

1960 "New Hope," Rochester Review 21(3):3 (January 1960)
The almost one million people in Western New York have a new weapon available in the fight against cancer that may be inflicted on a large percentage of this population.  The Radiation Center at Strong Memorial Hospital of the University's Medical Center is one of the most completely equipped facilities in the nation.  Costing $400,000,the Radiation Center is designed for the diagnosis, therapy, teaching and research in the problems of cancer and related diseases.  Radiation may also be used to treat benign conditions, such as bursitis and arthritis.  The most modern radiation machines for the treatment of disease have been installed, including two huge supervoltage X-ray devices – a two-million electron volt Van de Graff generating unit, the most powerful in upstate New York, and a Cobalt 60 rotational unit emitting radiation of between one and two million volts.  Each of the large supervoltage machines is in a separate room with four-foot thick concrete walls, and in each room there is a   window through which attendants may view the patient and the patient in turn may see the attendants, eliminating the fear of being left alone that understandably affects many patients. The windows, designed by the Corning Glass Works, are three-tiered and 24 inches thick, and cost $5,000 apiece.  The big machines are designed to deliver greater dosages directly to tumors more effectively and in a way that the patient can tolerate more easily, with a resultant minimal damage to normal tissues. The Radiation Center, housed in its own new building on the Elmwood Avenue side of the Medical Center, also has two conventional orthovoltage 250 kilovolt range machines and a 140 kilovolt superficial X-ray generator for treating superficial lesions.  The primary function of the Division of Radiation Therapy is in the realm of clinical services for diagnosis and treatment.  The group will continue to supervise the use of radioactive isotopes in a much wider scope in conjunction with other clinical departments in the Medical Center.  Almost every clinical specialty is now served daily through clinical application of isotopes.
The Radiation Center at Strong Memorial Hospital was made possible by a $203,200 grant to the Hospital by the John A. Hartford Foundation, Inc., for the purchase of equipment and payment of part of the $150,000 operating costs for three years. The University of Rochester provided the new building and pays the balance of the operating expenses

1965 "Cobalt Radiation Units:  How Many Are Needed?" Democrat and Chronicle, January 27, 1965, Page 6.
The University of Rochester Medical Center now is the only hospital in the area possessing one of the costly devices, used primarily to treat cancer.

© 2021 Morris A. Pierce