Treatment

Precision Radiation Oncology

radiation therapy

Radiation therapy is a practice of medicine that uses high energy x-rays to treat the specific area of the body where the cancer is located. This type of therapy is non invasive with side effects (if any) limited to the area being treated. Photon radiation is used to shrink or completely eradicate the cancer cells. During your initial consultation with Dr. Han, you will be able to discuss the various options that are available to you for your radiation treatments including:

IMRT or Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy is a type of treatment that targets the tumor and spares exposure to normal tissue. During this type of treatment, an image will be taken of the area to be treated, the treatment area will be aligned for the most accurate treatment, and the radiation dose will be administered. Using IMRT, the radiation oncologist is able to control the radiation dosage within each field of the treatment area.
IGRT or Image Guided Radiation Therapy is the use of CT or Computed Tomography Scan and X-ray imaging to localize the treatment area before the treatment begins to provide the most accurate treatment session. It enables us to see the exact location inside of the body that needs to receive the radiation dose. It is used in conjunction with IMRT for the most optimal treatment session.
HDR or High Dose Rate Brachytherapy is the use of a radioactive source which is placed within close proximity to the treatment site. This allows for a high dose of radiation to be given to the tumor site while minimizing exposure to the normal tissues. This can be used alone or in combination with IMRT.

During your consultation, you will receive specific information detailing the treatment options available to you. Dr. Han will discuss your diagnosis thoroughly and will work with you and make recommendations to help you decide which treatment options are best. Once you have decided, a treatment planning simulation will occur. During this process, a CT scan of the treatment area will be performed. Using this scan, a customized treatment plan will be created. Once this plan has been completed, you will return for a session to confirm that the plan can be delivered as intended. During this session, you will meet your radiation therapists who will be administering the daily treatments. You will then begin the daily treatments the following day with each session lasting approximately 10 minutes. You will see Dr. Han at least once a week during your treatments during which time he can address any questions or concerns you may have.

If you have been diagnosed with cancer, you are probably wondering what to do next. Let us start the fight together. Contact us to make an appointment.