We're Here To Help We provide compassionate state-of-the-art, and comprehensive cancer care to patients and their loved ones.

We provide many alternatives to patients undergoing cancer treatment. Brief explanations of different kinds of treatment can be found on our FAQ page. Below you'll find in-depth information of the services we provide.

Brachytherapy
Brachytherapy treats cancer using precisely placed radioactive implants in tumors. The implants can be permanent or temporary, but the goal is the same: Conform the radiation dose to the size and shape of the target and limit side effects by sparing the surrounding healthy anatomy.

Brachytherapy has been successfully used in prostate cancer treatment since 1997 and long-term follow up of patients treated with radioactive seeds shows a high disease-free rate for certain patients. No single treatment or combination of treatments is right for everyone and the decision to pursue brachytherapy, or any other treatment, must be made after careful consideration and discussion with your physician and family.

Low Dose Rate (LDR) Brachtherapy
The minimally invasive procedure is done under general anesthesia using rice-sized, radioactive pellets, called ‘seeds’ that are implanted directly into the prostate gland. Ultrasound guides the physician as he places the radioactive seeds of either Iodine-125 or Palladium-103 into the prostate. Once they have been implanted, they irradiate the cancer from inside the gland and remain active for several months. Because they are so small, they cause no long term discomfort after insertion and when they become inactive do not need to be removed. Any post-procedure discomfort is usually managed with mild analgesics and subsides after two or three days.

High Dose Rate (HDR) 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.

External Beam Therapy
External beam therapy can be used to treat the following diseases as well as many others:

• Breast Cancer
• Colorectal Cancer (Bowel Cancer)
• Head and Neck Cancer
• Lung Cancer
• Prostate Cancer

The radiation therapist brings the patient into the treatment room and places him/her on the treatment couch of the linear accelerator in exactly the same position that was used for simulation using the same immobilization devices. The therapist carefully positions the patient using the alignment lasers and the marks that had been placed on the patient during simulation. The therapist goes outside the room and turns on the linear accelerator from outside. Beams from one or more directions may be used and the beam may be on for as long as several minutes for each field.

The treatment process can take 10 to 30 minutes each day and most of the time is often spent positioning the patient. Patients usually receive radiation treatments once a day, five days a week for a total of two to nine weeks. The patient's diagnosis determines the total duration of treatment. Occasionally, treatments are given twice a day.

Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT)
Currently, IMRT is being used to treat cancers of the prostate, head and neck, breast, thyroid and lung, as well as in gynecologic, liver and brain tumors and lymphomas and sarcomas. IMRT is also beneficial for treating pediatric malignancies.

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.

IMRT is an aggressive therapy that requires multiple or fractionated treatment sessions. Several factors come into play when determining the total number of IMRT sessions and radiation dose. The oncologist considers the type, location and size of the malignant tumor, as well as the patient's health. Typically, patients are scheduled for IMRT sessions five days per week.

At the beginning of the treatment session, the therapist positions the patient on the treatment table, guided by the marks on the skin defining the treatment area. If molded devices were made, they will be used to help the patient maintain the proper position. The patient may be repositioned during the procedure. Treatment sessions usually take between 15 and 30 minutes.

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.

More than 100 chemotherapy drugs are used in various combinations. Although a single chemotherapy drug can be used to treat cancer, generally they are more powerful when used in combination with other drugs. Your chemotherapy treatment probably will consist of more than one drug. This is called combination chemotherapy. A combination of drugs with different actions can work together to kill more cancer cells and reduce the chance that you may become resistant to a particular chemotherapy drug.

You and your doctor will decide what drug or combination of drugs, what dosages, how it will be given, and what frequency and length of treatment are best for you. All of these decisions will depend on the type and location of the cancer, the extent of its growth, and how it is affecting your normal body functions and overall health.

Positron Emission Tomography and Computerized Tomography (PET/CT)
There are tremendous benefits of having a combined PET/CT scan:

• Earlier diagnosis
• Accurate staging and localization
• Precise treatment and monitoring

With the high-tech images that the PET/CT scanner provides, patients are given a better chance at a good outcome and avoid unnecessary procedures. A PET/CT image also provides early detection of the recurrence of cancer, revealing tumors that might otherwise be obscured by scar tissue that results from surgery and radiation therapy, particularly in the head and neck.

In the past, difficulties arose from trying to interpret the results of a CT scan done at a different time and location than a PET scan, due to the fact that the patient's body position had changed. The combination PET/CT provides physicians a more complete picture of what is occurring in the body - both anatomically and metabolically - at the same time.