Mark McLaughlin, M.D., Recognized for Bringing CyberKnife to WellStar

Mark McLaughlin, M.D. was recognized at the 2012 WellStar Foundation Gala for his outstanding  patient care and his significant contributions to the System, including bringing CyberKnife to WellStar.

Mark McLaughlin, M.D.

One of Dr. McLaughlin's patients, Jane Hollywood, began her battle against cancer eight years ago when she was diagnosed with early stage breast cancer. She did very well following her initial treatment, but after five years her cancer returned. This time, her prognosis was very poor. She saw several physicians in the United Kingdom and was always told there was nothing that could be done and she should prepare for the inevitable.

Being the kind of person that does not give up easily, she decided to explore the Internet to see what her options were. Someone told her about CyberKnife, and it seemed like a possibility. She contacted several CyberKnife centers both in Europe and the United States, only to find that they were reluctant to treat breast cancer. She was turned down by all but one. She eventually found a study carried out by Dr. McLaughlin into the treatment of locally recurrent breast cancer with CyberKnife.

Jane Hollywood's story was included in the Gala program:
“When Dr. McLaughlin’s assistant, Madge, telephoned us to say that he could treat my cancer, John and I were elated, because we knew it was our only hope.  But when she told me the cost, I panicked because we would have had to re-mortgage the house.  I thought of my family paying off that debt long after I was gone and the pain and heartache that would cause. I decided against the surgery. My husband came home and tried desperately to persuade me to go forward with it. I contacted Madge the following day to let her know that we could not proceed with the treatment.


Madge called me and said that it may be possible to bring the cost down, and asked me to send her all my financial details.  Thanks to her hard work and the generosity of the WellStar Foundation, the cost of treatment became within our reach. 


I would like to thank everybody, Dr. McLaughlin, Madge, the rest of the team, and the WellStar Foundation staff and volunteers who raise funds to help cancer sufferers like myself. I want to thank all the sponsors, for their kindness in donating their hard earned money to helping others have a second chance.

Click here to view a video about Dr. McLaughlin – (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8u24ltaeYo&feature=youtu.be)

Click here to view a video about Dr. McLaughlin’s patient’s story  (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tc2dDDKSnnw&feature=youtu.be)

As colleagues of Dr. McLaughlin have said:
“He is so passionate about giving people another chance.  One of the things he did when he brought CyberKnife to Kennestone was to make sure that it would always be available for those who couldn’t afford it.  And, that is certainly exercised on a routine basis. If somebody needs it, they get it.  If they have to come from England to get it, they come from England to get it. He and Madge make that happen on a day-to-day basis.”

“Dr. McLaughlin is a great leader. If it were not for his leadership skills, our program would not be what it is. It does take a team and we have a wonderful team. But, in my opinion our program is what it is because of our leader.”