Radiation Therapy is a form of cancer treatment that uses high-energy x-rays to kill cancer cells. Radiation therapy, including intensity-modulated radiotherapy, may be used alone or in conjunction with surgery or chemotherapy. Through years of research and experience, doctors specializing in radiation therapy have determined the optimum doses for specific types of cancer, optimizing the dose to the site of cancer, while minimizing harm to healthy tissue. The Radiation Oncologist will select the type of therapy best suited for your particular case.
IGRT is the most advanced form of radiation therapy available, in large part because it is so precise. Tumors can shift and move slightly between treatments and even during treatment because of normal physiological processes, such as breathing. IGRT uses advanced imaging techniques to verify your position and the tumor’s exact location at the moment of treatment.
Knowing exactly where the tumor is located allows clinicians to limit the radiation to the tumor as much as possible, thus maximally sparing the surrounding normal tissue. This accuracy results in higher radiation doses to the tumor and thereby increases the likelihood of controlling or eliminating cancer.
RapidArcTM is a groundbreaking technology that allows your physician to improve both the speed and precision of your IMRT treatment. This much faster delivery system reduces your treatment time and minimizes inaccuracies resulting from movement of the patient or tumor during treatment.
External beam radiation therapy sessions are typically completed within 15 minutes per session, 5 days a week, over a course of 6 to 8 weeks depending on your radiation oncologist’s treatment plan. While undergoing treatment, it is not unusual to experience mild urinary frequency or urgency, fatigue, or mild skin irritation. These symptoms are typically short-lived and resolve following completion of therapy. Typically, there is no pain or physical limitations associated with radiation therapy.
In order to further minimize the radiation effect on healthy tissues and improve accuracy of treatment, a temporary gel spacer called SpaceOARTM may be placed prior to treatment of the prostate at the recommendation of your radiation oncologist. Typically, a urologist uses an imaging modality called ultrasound to place a biodegradable gel between the rectum and the prostate. Typically, this procedure is done in the office without general anesthesia.
XofigoⓇ (radium-223) is a specific radiopharmaceutical used for to administer medical radiation therapy. XofigoⓇ is administration through an IV and used to treat prostate cancer that has spread to bones and is no longer responding to hormone therapies. This type of cancer is called castrate-resistant metastatic prostate cancer. XofigoⓇ works by binding to bone minerals to deliver radiation to the exact site of the bone cancer. Treatment using XofigoⓇ can significantly reduce any associated bone pain.
Diagnostic X-rays and CT are accredited by ACR. Both centers ensure patient safety by using a fully integrated electronic medical records system and proprietary risk management program.
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