Health care: radiation-oncology

Showing posts with label radiation-oncology. Show all posts

More Ways to Save Your Life: CyberKnife® at Pennsylvania Hospital

CyberKnife^® delivers high dose radiation to tumors with extreme precision. With a dynamic linear accelerator and sophisticated image-guided technology, CyberKnife treats cancerous and non-cancerous tumors primarily in the prostate, lung, spine, brain, liver, pancreas and kidney. It can also be used for patients who have tumors that cannot be treated with conventional surgery or lesions that were previously treated with radiation therapy.

Penn Medicine is pleased to offer every form of advanced radiation therapy, including CyberKnife, Gamma Knife^® and proton therapy, which allows Penn physicians to determine the most effective treatment with the least side effects for each patient. Patients can be evaluated for CyberKnife and other radiation therapy treatment options at Pennsylvania Hospital, the Ruth and Raymond Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine and locations throughout the Philadelphia region through the Penn Radiation Oncology Network.

Learn more about the benefits of CyberKnife
Watch Penn Radiation Oncology’s Patient Guide Video
Find out more about Penn Radiation Oncology Network

Proton Therapy for Prostate Cancer: A Patient’s Story

When Frank McKee was diagnosed with prostate cancer, he wanted to find the best treatment to fight the disease. After extensively researching treatment options, he finally chose proton therapy, the world’s most advanced form of radiation therapy.

“I wanted to treat the cancer and I wanted to be done with it in a way that had a minimum amount of side effects and affected my life the least,” McKee said.

Proton therapy offers a variety of benefits to patients with prostate cancer. These include:

Reduced radiation to normal, healthy tissues
Decreased chance of side effects, complications and toxicity
Maximum radiation dose administered directly to the tumor
Fewer daily treatments, as deemed appropriate
Ability to re-treat tumors

“My life has been very, very full in the last year and a half since I finished treatment,” said McKee. “There are times I totally forget I had prostate cancer. And that’s a good thing.”

Proton Therapy for Lung Cancer: The Most Advanced Radiation Therapy Available

Lung cancer is the nation’s leading cause of cancer death for both men and women. Penn Medicine offers a comprehensive team approach for treating lung cancer, including proton therapy, the most advanced form of radiation therapy available today. Radiation oncologists at the Roberts Proton Therapy Center use high-speed protons to create a particle beam that delivers precise radiation directly to the tumor. Proton therapy allows patients to receive higher, more targeted doses of radiation, which helps preserve surrounding healthy tissue. For patients, this means fewer side effects.

Advancing Radiation Therapy at Penn Medicine: CyberKnife® at Pennsylvania Hospital

CyberKnife^® at Pennsylvania Hospital is a minimally invasive radiation treatment that provides patients with an alternative to surgery for treating cancerous and noncancerous tumors. CyberKnife’s frameless radiosurgery system, lightweight linear accelerator and robotic arm allow it to treat tumors and lesions from a variety of angles in hard-to-reach locations. It can also be used on lesions that have previously undergone radiation therapy.

Penn Radiation Oncology provides patients with every form of advanced radiation therapy to treat cancer, including Gamma Knife^®, proton therapy and now CyberKnife. Patients can be evaluated for CyberKnife at Penn Radiation Oncology Network centers throughout the Philadelphia region.