Understanding your radiation therapy options is an important part of your treatment for cancer.

We provide the latest radiation techniques and equipment with treatments delivered by an experienced team of specialists and therapists. You will receive effective, cutting-edge radiation treatment and research opportunities for:

• Head and neck, colon, rectum, lung, breast, gynecological, and prostate cancers.
  
• Minute lesions and tumors needs a high dose of radiation.
  
• Tumors of irregular shape or inoperable tumors.
  
• Coronary blockages after angioplasty.

We believe in working in partnership with you so that the decisions we make together about your care are right for you.

Our services include:

• External Beam Radiation: IMRT/OBI
• Respiratory Gating for Cancers in the Chest Area
• Amifostine Therapy
• Brachytherapy for Breast Cancer

External Beam Radiation: IMRT/OBI

If you have prostate, head and neck, gynecological, colon or rectal, lung, breast, or other types of cancer, we offer two kinds of radiation therapy: Teletherapy radiation delivered via external beams; and high-dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy, delivered by placing radiation sources directly into the body. Recent technological advances in both external beam and HDR brachytherapy allow us to send higher doses of radiation to the tumor while minimizing injury to the surrounding normal tissues.

In many cases, external beam irradiation elmininates the need for extensive surgery. Radiation 3D imaging planning allows us to direct the dose to the primary site of the tumor, so we may cure the cancer while still preserving the structure and function of the affected organ. External beam radiation is delivered with sophisticated radiation treatment machines called "linear accelerators." We use a Varian Medical Systems Clinac digital medical linear accelerator to generate radiation beams.

The latest external beam techniques for delivery of curative radiation are 3D Conformal Radiation Therapy and Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT).

3D Conformal radiation is based upon computerized tomography (CT) scans which generate 3D images of the location of the body where the tumor is located. We prescribe a dose of radiation with multidirectional beams that improve the accuracy and effectiveness of the radiation treatment. We are continually refining our 3D capability and use special digital imaging technology to verify the accuracy of the treatments.

With IMRT, we not only prescribe the dose to the tumor but also the limit of dose permitted to surrounding tissues. A sophisticated computer program calculates what complex array of external beams best fits the particular anatomical situation. To achieve complete delivery of IMRT, we use a Millennium 120-MLC, Varian's highest-resolution radiation beam-shaping device.

An On-Board Imager (OBI) produces both excellent quality "kilovoltage" and "Cone-Beam Computed Tomography" images in less than a minute. Tumors are located quickly and precisely at the beginning of each session, allowing treatments to be completed quickly. The ability to target the tumor and avoid the normal tissues is extremely critical in certain disease sites, and the ability to use the linear accelerator as a CT scanner allows excellent refinement.

If you are a candidate for these types of radiation therapy, we will discuss these options in depth with you to determine the best course of action.

Back to top

Respiratory Gating for Cancers in the Chest Area

If we are treating lung cancer with radiation therapy, we have the capability to use a new technique called respiratory gating as part of the therapy. Respiratory gating allows us to safely treat lung cancer and other cancers in the chest to a higher dose because the non-surgical, computer-aided therapy synchronizes radiation therapy with breathing patterns. This allows for radiation to be delivered only when the tumor is at a particular place in the breathing cycle, reducing potential complications and damage to surrounding tissues. We discuss respiratory gating in greater detail when we review the radiation process with you.

Back to top

Amifostine Therapy

Furthering the success of head and neck and lung cancer treatment is a drug called Amifostine. By locating and coating healthy tissue cells and protecting them from radiation, this drug helps eliminate healthy tissue damage due to chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

Back to top

Brachytherapy for Breast Cancer

Talk with your doctor to find out if you qualify for a new form of brachytherapy for the treatment of breast cancer. With brachytherapy, computer-instructed robotic delivery devices insert and remove a tiny radiation source into hollow plastic tubes that are temporarily inserted around the lumpectomy area. The distribution of the radiation dose is controlled with millimeter precision and delivered over a one-week period.

This treatment is an option for some patients in place of six weeks of external beam radiation. We review the criteria for this form of treatment with you to determine if you are a candidate for it.

Back to top