NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center now offers a system that uses image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT) to treat patients with brain and spine tumors and other brain abnormalities. With this new system, NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell doctors can deliver highly accurate doses of radiation therapy to targeted areas in the brain while maximizing patient comfort in a procedure called stereotactic radiosurgery.

While the three decades since the start of the American War on Cancer have witnessed many innovative offensive strategies to treat the disease, a new key battle that may well be the turning point has emerged the battle of prevention. As part of this attempt to keep the enemy from even entering the field, the Cancer Prevention Program at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital has launched a national newsletter and Web site to keep both consumers and health professionals abreast of the latest developments in this new field of cancer prevention.

Until bans on in-flight smoking took effect, beginning in 1988, flight attendants were regularly exposed to secondhand smoke. These men and women and other service industry professionals are now being recruited for a landmark series of clinical studies on the health effects of secondhand smoke on nonsmokers, taking place at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center and other locations.

A new study is set to reopen the public debate over menopausal hormone therapy (HT). By focusing on younger, recently menopausal women, the Kronos Early Estrogen Prevention Study (KEEPS) seeks to show that supplemental estrogen prevents or delays the onset of heart disease - the number one killer of women. NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and Columbia University Medical Center is one of eight national study sites. The four-year randomized clinical trial will recruit 720 women in order to determine whether estrogen slows the rate of hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis), the major cause of heart attacks. The study will also examine if an estrogen skin patch is more effective than an estrogen pill. HT reduces symptoms of menopause -- including hot flashes, abnormal vaginal bleeding, and mood changes.

The former director of the New York State Department of Health's Office of Health Systems, Wayne M. Osten, has been appointed Vice President of NewYork-Presbyterian Healthcare System for System Development. In his new role, Mr. Osten will help foster the development evolution of the Healthcare System. He will also identify and create opportunities for the System's expanded operational and academic role in health policy education and research.

Each year, millions of Americans undergo diagnostic tests aimed at spotting heart disease, cancer, and other illnesses. And while we know a lot about what these tests and their results mean for the body, we still know very little about how they affect a patient's state of mind. Now, a Weill Medical College of Cornell University study that focused on cardiac stress testing may give researchers a powerful new tool to study those types of psychological effects.

Heart disease is the number one killer of adults in the United States. Each year over one million adults die from heart disease. But take heart: there are steps that can be taken to minimize risk factors and prevent heart disease, including eating a heart-healthy diet, participating in physical activity, and not smoking.

To better address the acute medical needs of the growing number of adults aged 75 and older, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center has created a Geriatric Emergency Medicine Fellowship, a first-of-its-kind program for physicians who have completed their residency training in emergency medicine.