Radiation Oncology Offers the Latest Therapies that Make a Difference
Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare – All Saints offers several leading-edge radiation therapies for our patients. These therapies may be used alone or combined with medical, surgical and other options as we develop the treatment plan that is best for you.
Image Guided Radiation Therapy (IGRT)
With this state-of-the-art technique, radiation can now be targeted more accurately than ever by collecting data during a course of radiation therapy and adapting treatment accordingly.
- Image modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) is routinely used in the initial planning process for locating and targeting a tumor. But tumors can move between treatments, due to organ filling or movements while breathing. IGRT allows therapists to update this data on a continual basis and focus on precise delivery of radiation to tumors while sparing other tissue.
- Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) – This treatment uses technology to “map” the patient’s anatomical structure and direct highly focused radiation beams to the tumor from different angles. Normal, noncancerous tissue is spared in the process.
- Shaped beam radiosurgery –The most advanced medical and computer technology available today combines in shaped beam radiosurgery, which delivers an extremely precise, concentrated dose of radiation to a tumor.
This technique protects surrounding healthy tissue and delicate structures, such as the brainstem or spinal cord. It also allows us to perform “surgery” on tumors in minutes, without anesthesia, incisions or the long recovery time required after conventional surgery or radiation therapy.
With this level of precision, we can treat some tumors previously deemed inoperable due to size, shape or location. By shaping the radiation beams to match the exact contour of the tumor, irregularly shaped tumors can be treated effectively. Doctors can also change the beam shape for very fine control over how and where radiation is administered.
Radiation doses can be delivered at levels at least 60 percent higher than conventional methods, dramatically reducing the time spent in treatment and the number of treatments needed.
Shaped beam radiosurgery is also known as Stereotactic Radiosurgery (SRS) or Stereotactic Body Radiosurgery (SRB), which are types of Image-Guided Radiotherapy (IGRT).
- Conventional radiation therapy treatments – A linear accelerator delivers radiation treatments to impacted areas of the body.
- 3D Treatment Planning – A planning tool that enables radiation oncologists to calculate more efficient in-depth radiation doses.
- Radiation therapy simulation technologies
- CT enabled – A “CT” scanner and simulator work together to precisely “map” radiation treatment fields on patients.
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