BATON ROUGE — Our Lady of the Lake and Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center announced a renewed partnership for radiation therapy on Thursday.

The collaboration, the hospitals said, will expand capabilities and capacity for the Adaptive Radiation Therapy Program to patients throughout the Capital Region.

Officials said that the collaboration will build on Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center’s existing Elekta Unity MRI-guided linear accelerator, allowing physicians to visualize changes in tumors and surrounding anatomy and adapt treatment with greater precision. 

The program's goal is to reduce the number of treatments and expand the ability to safely treat tumors in challenging locations, including those near sensitive organs.

The collaborative program will also see the integration of AI into radiation therapy, officials at OLOL noted. 

“Working together allows both organizations to meet the needs of our community today while simultaneously planning for the future of cancer care,” E.J. Kuiper, FMOL Health President and CEO, said. “By working together strategically, we are able to expand access to life-saving care while simultaneously avoiding a duplication of services and avoiding unnecessary costs to our patients.”

Officials at Mary Bird Perkins said that the collaboration reflects a "shared commitment to finding meaningful ways to benefit patients and advance cancer care in our region."

"It also reflects what has been central to Mary Bird Perkins’ legacy for decades: building strong, trusted relationships with hospitals and health systems across Louisiana to expand access to exceptional cancer care, close to home," Jonas Fontenot, President and Chief Executive Officer at Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center, said.