When radiation therapy is delivered by technology outside the patient's body, it is called external beam radiation therapy (EBRT).

 

External beam radiation therapy uses a linear accelerator to focus powerful beams of X-rays to kill cancer cells. These X-rays interact with the atoms of living cells in a different way than the X-rays used to detect broken bones or dental problems. They are just as painless, however. These treatment X-rays are carefully focused to inflict lethal damage to the tumors while minimizing any injury to the surrounding normal tissues.

3D conformal radiation therapy (also called three-dimensional radiation therapy) uses computer technology to create a three-dimensional picture of the tumor so that multiple radiation beams can be shaped exactly (conform) to the contour of the treatment area. This is particularly useful when the tumor has an irregular shape. It allows doctors to give the highest possible dose of radiation to the tumor, while sparing the surrounding normal tissue to the greatest extent possible.

CentraState's Radiation Oncology Department offers the most sophisticated method of radiation delivery through intensity-modulated radiation therapy. Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) uses a highly precise system to deliver meticulously calculated beams of radiation directly to the targeted tumor.

 

Cancers are rarely uniform, and portions of tumors that are thicker need more radiation than thinner areas. Using IMRT, we can vary the amount of radiation that goes to each area, which results in increased accuracy.

 

Successful IMRT implementation demands the specialized equipment and experienced team of physicians, physicists and technologists that you will find at CentraState.

Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS)is not surgery at all—at least not in the conventional sense, as it does not require an incision.

 

SRS is a one-day outpatient procedure. It uses a computer-guided radiation therapy system to aim highly focused beams of radiation directly into a tumor orabnormality. This nonsurgical approach relies on the BrainLab computer system to deliver high doses of radiation precisely to specific areas within the brain or other areas of the body. With this technique, all the radiation is focused directly on the area of the tumor or abnormality and very little radiation reaches the surrounding normal tissue.

 

Cranial radiosurgery is a technique of delivering radiation to smaller lesions of the brain, usually those in close proximity to critical structures. It is performed as an alternative to open craniotomy resection, an open surgical procedure. The treatment allows for a very precise delivery of multiple, tightly focused radiation beams to a small volume of tissue that spares the normal, often critical, surrounding area. It is used to treat brain malignancies as well as acoustic neuromas, meningiomas and arteriovenous malformations. Fractionated radiotherapy (daily treatment for up to seven weeks) is similar to radiosurgery and is used primarily when a larger area needs to be treated.

 

Body radiosurgery is similar to cranial radiosurgery in that it allows the physician to tightly conform a small treatment volume in areas other than the brain. It is typically used for liver, lung, spine and head & neck lesions that may be close to critical structures.

 

CentraState's radiosurgery team includes neurosurgery specialists, radiation oncologists, radiologists, medical physicists, and physicians in other specialties.

To contact the Radiation Oncology Department at CentraState Medical Center, call (732) 303-5290 or send an e-mail.