Radiation Oncology is a department of the Great Falls Clinic Cancer Center, offering state-of-the-art radiation treatments, working in conjunction with Medical Oncology to provide seamless, quality care for cancer patients.
Radiation therapy is the medical specialty that uses different forms of radiation to damage and kill cancer cells. There are many forms of radiation, and the choice for you depends on your type of cancer and its location. This is because various types of cancer react to radiation in different ways, so treatments vary for specific types. Similar to an x-ray, radiation therapy does not hurt. Often, radiation is delivered using a machine that beams the radioactive material right at the cancer. This is called external radiation therapy.
The medical physicist works directly with the radiation oncologist in developing a plan of care using external radiation or internally implanted radioactive sources. Using the principles of physics, the most precise treatment plan is developed that will specifically target the cancer tissue and spare healthy tissue in the surrounding areas.
The medical dosimetrist works under the supervision of the medical physicist to determine the most effective angle the radiation beam should be applied, along with the strength and dosage of the radiation along its pathway. Technologies today allow the dosage to be adjusted as it travels through the body, allowing for healthy tissue to be spared as the cancer tissue is targeted.
The radiation therapist team applies the treatment plan and works directly with the patient in positioning them for treatment and carrying out the application of the radiation to the diseased tissue by the various technologies available. The radiation therapist is the expert in treatment delivery, along with fabrication of molds and immobilization devices used in the delivery of radiation therapy.
Types of Radiation Therapies
IMRT
IMRT using IGRT – without holding your breath
- Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) is an advanced mode of high-precision radiotherapy that delivers precise radiation doses to a malignant tumor or specific areas within the tumor.
- Image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT) is the use of frequent imaging during a course of radiation therapy to improve the precision and accuracy of the delivery of treatment.
- Cone Beam computed tomography (CBCT) is for patient positioning during radiation therapy represents a recent and significant advance in what is now being called image guided radiation therapy (IGRT). With CBCT, a full CT scan of the patient on the treatment couch is obtained immediately before radiation delivery, with the CT scan taken and reconstructed in less than 2 minutes. The CT scan can then be automatically registered to the CT taken earlier for treatment planning to facilitate precise repositioning of the patient to the treatment machine isocenter.
SBRT
Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT), is a type of radiation therapy in which a few very high doses of radiation are delivered to small, well-defined tumors. The goal is to deliver a radiation dose that is high enough to kill the cancer while minimizing exposure to surrounding healthy organs. SBRT involves the delivery of a few fractionated radiation treatments (usually up to 5 treatments).
SBRT is typically used to treat small, early-stage tumors of the lung, or isolated recurrences or metastases from various types of cancer. SBRT has also been used successfully to treat early-stage non-small cell lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, and metastatic cancers in the:
- Lung
- Liver
- Adrenal glands
- Spine
The innovative RapidArc radiotherapy technology represents the latest evolution of cancer treatment technology, setting new benchmarks for speed, precision and patient comfort.
