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We
know that many people have questions about the different types
of cancer treatments we provide. Below you will find a few
brief descriptions of many of our services.
What
is Radiation Therapy?
Radiation therapy, including IMRT, stops cancer cells from
dividing and growing, thus slowing tumor growth. In many cases,
radiation therapy is capable of killing cancer cells, thus
shrinking or eliminating tumors.
What
is External Beam Radiation Therapy (EBRT)?
External beam therapy (EBT) is a method for delivering a beam
of high-energy x-rays to the location of the patient's tumor.
The beam is generated outside the patient (usually by a linear
accelerator, see below) and is targeted at the tumor site.
These x-rays can destroy the cancer cells and careful treatment
planning allows the surrounding normal tissues to be spared.
No radioactive sources are placed inside the patient's body.
What
is Intensity-Modulated Radation Therapy (IMRT)?
Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) is an advanced
mode of high-precision radiotherapy that utilizes computer-controlled
x-ray accelerators to deliver precise radiation doses to a
malignant tumor or specific areas within the tumor. The radiation
dose is designed to conform to the three-dimensional (3-D)
shape of the tumor by modulating—or controlling—the
intensity of the radiation beam to focus a higher radiation
dose to the tumor while minimizing radiation exposure to surrounding
normal tissues.
What
is Brachytherapy?
Brachytherapy is a one time treatment option for men with
localized (confined to the organ) prostate cancer. The procedure
might also be considered for men whose age or medical conditions
make other treatment options a risk.
What
is High Dose Rate Brachytherapy?
High-dose-rate
(HDR) brachytherapy delivers high-intensity radiation directly
into tumors through fine needles that are deployed from computer-controlled
afterloaders that move the radiation source on a wire within
the needle according to a prescribed treatment plan. The total
dose is delivered in a series of fractions, or treatment sessions.
What
is PET/CT?
Positron
Emission Tomography (PET) and Computerized Tomography (CT)
are both standard imaging tools that allow physicians to pinpoint
the location of cancer within the body before making treatment
recommendations. The highly sensitive PET scan detects  the
metabolic signal of actively growing cancer cells in the body
and the CT scan provides a detailed picture of the internal
anatomy that reveals the location, size and shape of abnormal
cancerous growths. Alone, each imaging test has particular
benefits and limitations but when the results of PET and CT
scans are "fused" together, the combined image provides
complete information on cancer location and metabolism.
What
is chemotherapy?
Chemotherapy
is the use of medicines (or drugs) to treat disease. Sometimes
this type of treatment is called just “chemo.”
Although surgery and radiation therapy remove, destroy, or
damage cancer cells in a specific area, chemotherapy works
throughout the body. Chemotherapy can destroy cancer cells
that have metastasized, or spread to parts of the body far
away from the primary (original) tumor.
Does
CCNT have access to the latest research protocols?
CCNT
has access to national and international research in cancer
prevention, detection, and treatment.
What
is Mammosite?
The
MammoSite® RTS is a new minimally invasive method of delivering
internal radiation therapy following a lumpectomy for breast
cancer. Therapy is given on an outpatient basis-there is no
need to stay in the hospital-and can be completed in 5 days.
The MammoSite® RTS is a single small balloon catheter
that fits inside the tumor resection cavity-the space that
is left after the surgeon removes the tumor. A tiny radioactive
seed, connected to a machine called an afterloader, is inserted
into the balloon and delivers the radiation therapy.
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