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Radiation Therapy

Article

Radiation Treatment for Cancer

Advanced Radiation Technology

Radiation therapy uses high energy rays, such as X-rays, to destroy cancer cells and shrink tumors in different parts of the body. It’s used to treat many types of cancer. Radiation damages the genetic material of cancer cells, which stops their growth. Radiation may also damage normal cells that are close to the cancer cells. But normal cells usually repair themselves, while the cancer cells cannot.

At St. Luke’s Cancer Institute, we offer you leading radiation techniques and technology, as well as a team of skilled, compassionate experts treating your cancer and offering support and encouragement for you and your family throughout your cancer journey.

Varian TrueBeam Technology

The TrueBeam® platform uses precise imaging and beam control to treat tumors non-invasively. It can be used on cancers of the head and neck, lung, breast, prostate, liver, and more. St. Luke's offers the TrueBeam procedure at all of our radiation treatment locations.

Novalis Tx Radiosurgery Linear Accelerator

Novalis Tx Radiosurgery™ delivers radiation therapy with pinpoint accuracy, minimizing the risk of harm to surrounding healthy tissue. With highly flexible treatment options personalized for each patient, this technology offers improved patient comfort, shorter treatment times, fewer visits, and fewer side effects.

IMRT (Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy)

IMRT uses multiple radiation beams and angles, together with highly complex blocking, to control the intensity of radiation. The ability to focus a higher dose on the tumor, while reducing radiation exposure to surrounding healthy tissues and critical structures of the body, increases the effectiveness of the radiation and reduces side effects.

IGRT (Image Guided Radiation Therapy)

Before treatment begins, we can take an X-ray or CT scan to ensure that you’re in exactly the correct position to receive the highly focused radiation.

Stereotactic Radiosurgery

This technique delivers a very precise high dose of radiation to small tumors in the brain.

Brachytherapy

Brachytherapy is internal radiation therapy that brings radioactive materials inside your body directly to the tumor. This allows for a concentrated dose to a small area. St. Luke’s Cancer Institute offers a variety of internal therapy options, depending on your specific condition or needs. We can implant radioactive seeds directly into the prostate, or deliver high dose brachytherapy through catheters to treat breast, prostate, and gynecological cancers.