Spinal Cancer Patient Finds New Hope at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation

Doctors Now Using Novalis Tx(TM) Technology to Deliver Highly-Accurate
Image-Guided Radiosurgery for Hard-to-Reach Tumors

PALO ALTO, Calif., June 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Karen Fry, 60, an
administrator at UC Santa Cruz, was running out of options in her battle
against metastatic breast cancer. A new tumor located in the sacrum, or upper
part of the pelvis, was causing intense pain that was spreading and
interfering with her ability to walk. Fry turned to a team of doctors at the
Palo Alto Medical Foundation (PAMF), who are now using the Novalis Tx(TM)
platform from Varian Medical Systems and BrainLAB to attack tumors with
precisely-shaped high-energy X-ray beams.

Before arriving at PAMF, Fry received conventional radiation therapy
treatments for the new tumor at another facility. This precluded re-treatment
of the area with conventional radiation techniques. "They were worried about
causing irrevocable damage to the spinal nerves and other organs like my
bladder and bowel," Fry said. To finish the job, Fry's doctor referred her to
PAMF, because Novalis Tx can accurately target a tumor while minimizing
exposure of tissues and organs only a few millimeters away.

"My situation was very serious," said Fry. "The organs around the tumor
couldn't tolerate any more radiation, and so the treatments had to be focused
very precisely. Honestly, this felt like my last shot at being treated. But as
they were describing what Novalis Tx can do, the clinicians at PAMF projected
a positive, can-do attitude that really helped to restore my hopes for a
positive outcome."

Fry's treatment was completed over a five-day period, in daily sessions that
each took only about 20 minutes to complete. "After the first four sessions, I
felt well enough to go back to work," added Fry. "On the last day of
treatment, which fell on a Saturday, I left the center and was able to go on
with my usual weekend activities."

Combining sophisticated robotic image guidance tools and a controlled beam
shaping device, the Novalis Tx platform enables clinicians to direct a
precisely sculpted beam at a patient's tumor, while avoiding sensitive tissues
nearby.

"The image-guidance tools enable us to verify repeatedly that the beam is
accurately striking the intended target," said Gordon Ray, MD, director of the
radiation oncology department at PAMF. "In Karen's case, these tools made it
possible for us to deliver a very accurate treatment, even though the tumor
was just millimeters away from her bowel, sacral, and peripheral nerves."

Dr. Ray continued, "With Novalis Tx, we can treat the full spectrum of cancer
cases. The platform is versatile enough to deliver highly accurate
radiotherapy treatments for prostate and other types of cancer, along with
precise radiosurgery treatments for cancers of the lung and spine. We're able
to adapt each treatment to the specific needs of our patients," he said.

About The Palo Alto Medical Foundation
The Palo Alto Medical Foundation (PAMF) for Health Care, Research and
Education is a not-for-profit health care organization that is a pioneer in
the multispecialty group practice of medicine. PAMF's 900 affiliated
physicians and 4,000 employees serve more than 600,000 patients at its medical
centers and clinics in Alameda, San Mateo, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz
counties. PAMF is part of the Peninsula-Coastal Region of Sutter Health, one
of the nation's leading not-for-profit networks of community-based health care
providers. Sutter Health's Peninsula-Coast Region also includes
Mills-Peninsula Health Services. For more information, visit www.pamf.org or
www.sutterhealth.org.

About Varian Medical Systems
Varian Medical Systems, Inc., of Palo Alto, California, is the world's leading
manufacturer of medical devices and software for treating cancer and other
medical conditions with radiotherapy, radiosurgery, proton therapy, and
brachytherapy. The company supplies informatics software for managing
comprehensive cancer clinics, radiotherapy centers and medical oncology
practices. Varian is a premier supplier of tubes and digital detectors for
X-ray imaging in medical, scientific, and industrial applications and also
supplies X-ray imaging products for cargo screening and industrial inspection.
Varian Medical Systems employs approximately 5,100 people who are located at
manufacturing sites in North America, China, and Europe and in its 79 offices
and facilities around the world. For more information, visit
http://www.varian.com/.

About BrainLAB
BrainLAB develops, manufactures and markets software-driven medical technology
that enables procedures that are more precise, less invasive, and also less
expensive than traditional treatments. Among the core products are
image-guided systems that provide highly accurate real-time information used
for navigation during surgical procedures. This utility has been further
expanded to serve as a computer terminal for physicians to more effectively
access and interpret diagnostic scans and other digital medical information
for better informed decisions. BrainLAB solutions allow expansion from a
single system to operating suites to digitally integrated hospitals covering
all subspecialties from neurosurgery, orthopedics, ENT, CMF to spine & trauma
and oncology. With 3300 systems installed in over 75 countries, BrainLAB is a
market leader in image-guided technology. The privately held BrainLAB group,
founded in 1989, is headquartered in Munich, Germany, and today employs 1000
people in 16 offices across Europe, Asia, Australia, North and South America.
To learn more, visit www.brainlab.com.

FOR INFORMATION CONTACT:
John Worlton, Varian Medical Systems
650-424-6438 or john.worlton@varian.com

Ben Drew, Palo Alto Medical Foundation
650-691-6228 or drewb1@pamf.org

SOURCE Varian Medical Systems, Inc.

John Worlton of Varian Medical Systems, +1-650-424-6438,
john.worlton@varian.com; or Ben Drew of Palo Alto Medical Foundation,
+1-650-691-6228, drewb1@pamf.org