Radiation Therapy Services
External Beam Radiation
External beam radiation is the most common form of radiation therapy. It is produced by a linear accelerator, a machine that directs beams of high-energy radiation at cancer cells. When cancer cells are damaged by radiation, they eventually die off.
- Image-guided Radiation Therapy (IGRT) may be used during external radiation treatment. IGRT makes certain that the patient and the tumor target are positioned accurately so the radiation given can be the smallest beam possible, reducing radiation exposure to healthy body tissue.
- Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) uses sophisticated software to accurately shape the radiation beam and vary the dose intensity to narrow in on a precisely defined target. IMRT is used to treat prostate, head and neck, breast and many other types of cancer.
- RapidArc (Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy) is an advanced treatment capability for delivering IMRT. The linear accelerator rotates around the patient while varying the shape of the treatment field and the dose intensity. This allows for a shorter treatment time and offers a potential for increased precision depending on the area of treatment.
- Respiratory Gated treatment provides accurate delivery of radiation in synchronization with a patient’s individual breathing pattern. This offers greater precision and accuracy for treating tumors that can move with respiration, such as those in the lung.