Patients have access to our highly skilled and experienced physicians and staff as well as the latest in technological advances. Modern medicine has been revolutionized by advancing technology. This is particularly true in radiation therapy which is dependent on sophisticated linear accelerators that generate high energy x-rays that are used to destroy cancer cells. The steady advance of technology has allowed the radiation oncologists to deliver higher doses of radiation to the tumor cells while delivering less radiation to the surrounding normal tissues. This offers the promise of improved tumor control with reduced short and long term side effects.

Radiation therapy is an integral part of the treatment of most malignancies. Cancer care in the 21st century usually involves the integration of various doctors and other specialists to develop and carry out the treatment plan. Radiation oncologists, along with surgeons and medical oncologists, form the core of the cancer care team for patients at Carolinas Medical Center, with access to the wide range of other specialists to provide truly multi-disciplinary care.

Radiation therapy is frequently used with chemotherapy to work more powerfully in concert than either treatment alone. Radiation can be delivered before or after surgery dependent upon the situation of an individual treatment.

Usually, radiation therapy is delivered with the goal of curing the cancer and allowing the patient to live a full normal life. In situations that cancer cannot be cured radiation can play the important role of improving the quality of life of the patients and their families by controlling pain, bleeding or other problems that can arise in advanced cancer.

Our radiation oncologists are members of Southeast Radiation Oncology Group (SERO). The physicians provide a full spectrum of treatment options.

There are many types of radiation treatment available at CMC. Each person's case is different, which gives the team the ability to deliver the treatment the patient needs. Our physicians have access to the latest form of advanced technology including external beam radiation as well as brachytherapy (a form of radiation in which a radiation source is placed in or near the tumor):

Forms of external beam radiation include:

Three-Dimensional Conformal Radiation Treatment Planning:
A special computer assists the physicians and staff to map the 3-dimentional location of the cancer in the body. This allows radiation beams to be accurately directed to the shape of the cancer from multiple directions and allows the physicians to increase the doses utilized without increasing the risk of side effects. The patients are positioned with a special kind of cast or mold to limit movement of the portion of the body being targeted so the radiation can be precisely aimed. As with any form of radiation, there is no sensation associated with receiving the treatment, so it does not hurt to receive the treatment. The physicians and specially trained nurses explain potential side effects of treatment prior to the patient receiving any radiation therapy. Radiation therapy is usually given five days a week for several weeks.

Each treatment lasts only a few minutes, and is similar to having a diagnostic x-ray test. As with a diagnostic x-ray, the radiation passes through the skin and other tissues before it reaches the tumor. The actual radiation exposure time is very short, and most of the treatment time is spent precisely positioning the patient so that the radiation is aimed accurately at the cancer.

Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT):
IMRT allows very precise external beam radiotherapy treatments rather than having a single large radiation beam pass through the body. With IMRT, the radiation is effectively broken up into thousands of thin radiation beams, providing accuracy so that all beams intersect on the cancer, minimizing harm to surrounding tissues.

Image Guided Radiation Therapy (IGRT):
IGRT is the latest advance in radiation therapy. This procedure allows the imaging and targeting of the tumor directly to improve the accuracy of radiation therapy. All three linear accelerators at Carolinas Medical Center are capable of performing IGRT. The physicians at Carolinas Medical Center have been treating patients with this procedure for several years.

Novalis Shaped-Beam Stereotactic RadioSurgery:
Carolinas Medical Center is the only hospital in North Carolina to have a Novalis accelerator, the most advanced form of linear accelerator available. It is a specialized machine that allows the highly accurate delivery of radiation therapy. Our physicians utilize the Novalis accelerator to perform stereotactic radiosurgery procedures on brain tumors. This procedure allows treatment for lesions in the brain that are not accessible to conventional surgery or other treatments. The Novalis accelerator also has the capability to perform treatments with very high doses of radiation to tumors outside the brain using image guidance. Additional information can be found by clicking here.

Brachytherapy:
Brachytherapy is an advanced cancer treatment. Unlike treatment with external radiation beam, brachytherapy places radioactive seeds in or near the tumor itself, giving a high radiation dose to the tumor while reducing the radiation exposure to the surrounding healthy tissues. In some situations the treatments can be completed in just minutes. This procedure is especially beneficial for the treatment of prostate cancer and may allow some patients to avoid the removal of the prostate gland. Our physicians are experts in the use of intercavitary, as well as interstitial brachytherapy. We were the first in the region to utilize high-dose rate brachytherapy, which allows some treatment that previously required hospitalization to be performed as an outpatient.

GliaSite Radiation Therapy:
GliaSite delivers radiation to delicate parts of the brain, after the surgical removal of cancerous brain tumors. Once the tumor has been removed, a GliaSite balloon catheter is inserted into the remaining cavity. Several days after the operation, the balloon is then filled with a solution of liquid radiation called Iortex. The dose from the Iotrex is delivered over the course of about one week. The radiotherapy works through the balloon on the edge of the tumor cavity, which minimizes radiation exposure to healthy brain tissue.

MammoSite Radiation Therapy:
This procedure delivers radiation directly to the area where a breast tumor has been surgically removed. MammoSite consists of a balloon catheter that is inserted into the area of the breast where the tumor was removed. Once inserted, the balloon is expanded and radiation is delivered through a tiny bead attached to a wire, exposing the area surrounding the cavity to radiation. After a series of treatments are completed, the catheter is removed. The treatment allows selected patients to reduce the standard course of six weeks of daily radiation to be replaced with a treatment course that only requires one week to complete.