Sharon Regional Health System on Wednesday announced a $4 million expansion of its Cancer Care Center in Hermitage.

The expansion at the Highland Road center will include renovation of the existing building in the first phase with construction of a new 4,000-square-foot addition in the second stage. Under the project, $2.3 million will be spent on new equipment which includes a new linear accelerator for radiation therapy with the remaining $1.7 million earmarked for construction.

Renovation work is expected to begin in several weeks while construction drawings for the new addition are still being developed. The center will continue to use its current linear accelerator.

“In the last 12 months, we’ve noted a 30 percent increase in the number of radiation therapy procedures as well as a 42 percent growth in medical oncology visits at our Cancer Care Center,” said John Zidansek, Sharon Regional’s president and chief executive officer. “By expanding and adding the newest technology in radiation therapy, we’ll be able to easily meet our community’s need for advanced cancer treatment.”

Like the center’s existing accelerator, the newer version can change the intensity of radiation during treatment to spare the surrounding normal tissue. However, the new accelerator can take an image of a tumor just before or during treatment so that the radiation is delivered more precisely. Basically, it means the center can see what is being treated during the actual procedure.

“Even if a tumor might shift slightly during the course of a treatment, the delivery of radiation therapy can be adjusted to maintain precise targeting,’’ said Dr. Dennis Ulewicz, director of radiation oncology. “Through its accuracy and precision, we’ll even be able to care for patients whose cancerous tumors may have returned after several years, who previously would have had to go to Pittsburgh or another distant city for treatment.”

As part of the expansion, a second radiation oncologist will be joining the center in a few months. The bid for the first phase of the project has been awarded to the Hudson Group in Hermitage. The second-phase addition involves new patient changing areas, lounges, physician and staff offices, and other support services for the new accelerator along with 1,600 square feet of additional renovations to the existing radiation therapy area.