New Breast Cancer Support Group Begins During Breast Cancer Awareness Month at NROC

Northeast Radiation Oncology Center’s new Breast Cancer Support Group begins Thursday, October 9.  The gatherings will be held from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. on the second Thursday of every month, and will feature guest speakers and light dinner fare in a comforting atmosphere.  Registration is required, at 570-881-6247. 

Radiation Oncologist Dr. Chris Peters will speak at this first meeting.  He will share a Breast Cancer Update at NROC, 1110 Meade Street, Dunmore.

NROC Installs Revolutionary Cancer Treatment System, TomoTherapy

The TomoTherapy HI×ART System® is a first of its kind, providing 3-D imaging of a tumor immediately prior to treatment and delivering radiation from 360 degrees. This allows more accurate identification and treatment of cancerous tumors, and reduces exposure of healthy tissue to radiation.

Residents of Northeast Pennsylvania can now access the world’s most advanced cancer treatment system in two convenient locations: Northeast Radiation Oncology Center in Dunmore, and Upper Delaware Valley Cancer Center in Milford. Our Milford campus has offered TomoTherapy since July 2006.

TomoTherapy is the most precise radiation cancer treatment for people with the most complex and challenging cases. “This cutting-edge technology allows the delivery of 360 degree precision radiation therapy, and has tremendous positive impact on patients,” states Dr. Pino-y-Torres, medical director of Upper Delaware Valley Cancer Center, and one of the most experienced radiation oncologists in the world in the use of TomoTherapy. “It is the first system that provides 3-D imaging immediately prior to each treatment.”

Dr. Harmar Brereton adds, “We are excited to add TomoTherapy to our Dunmore campus services--The ability to do 3-D imaging immediately before each treatment to verify the location of a tumor increases precision. Often between treatments a patient’s tumor can move, so by verifying before each treatment, the tumor can be precisely targeted. This reduces exposure of healthy tissue to radiation, and also means it can reduce the side effects for our patients.”

“Our goal is to win the war against cancer,” says Dr. Fred Robertson, CEO of Madison, Wisconsin-based TomoTherapy Incorporated, manufacturer of the HI×ART System. “We set out to integrate and simplify the radiation therapy process while improving accuracy.” Traditional radiation therapies often require a patient to transfer between several different stations to receive treatment, which takes time. “Our system enables the clinician to plan, verify and deliver treatment in one system. It can also reduce the chance of errors since all patient information is contained in one unit, and it reduces patient treatment time,” says Robertson.

How The TomoTherapy HI×ART System® Works
1. Before each treatment, the patient, lying on the couch, moves through the HI×ART machine for a 3-D TomoImage™. Images taken verify the shape, size and location of the tumor.
2. Dosage and location of delivery via the radiation beam are determined.
3. The patient then moves through the HI×ART machine again where radiation is delivered in a helical pattern (360 degrees) to the tumor.
4. Each procedure takes approximately 15 minutes.

The concept of helical tomotherapy was first developed by researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Two of these researchers later founded TomoTherapy Incorporated in 1997. The company is privately held and based in Madison, Wisconsin. For information visit www.tomotherapy.com

For more information on TomoTherapy at Northeast Radiation Oncology Center, please call 866-923-TOMO (8666), and at Upper Delaware Valley Cancer Center, please call 866-549-TOMO (8666).

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A New Source of Hope in Cancer Treatment
Comes to NROC at Mercy Hospital, Scranton

Northeast Radiation Oncology Center at Mercy Hospital has become one of only two locations in Pennsylvania where patients can benefit from Hyperthermia Therapy. This technology presents a brighter future for cancer patients, as it can improve their quality of life, and diminish cancer recurrences.

Hyperthermia therapy is a treatment used in battling cancer by heating tumors. Research has shown that heat can damage or kill cancer cells in some tumors while also making radiation therapy more effective in treating some tumors, despite conventional therapy. Coupled with radiation therapy, studies show that hyperthermia may double the tumor response rate for some recurrent and progressive tumors, when compared to using radiation therapy alone.

How The BSD-500 Hyperthermia System Works
1. Heat (108 F) kills or weakens the cells of the tumor.
2. Heat increases blood flow through the weakened tumor, which can allow therapies to permeate the tumor, not just attack it from the outside.
3. Increased blood flow raises oxygen levels in tumors so that the cancer can be more effectively treated by radiation therapy.
4. When the body senses fever, it stimulates the natural immune system, attacking the cancerous cells.


For more information on Hyperthermia at Northeast Radiation Oncology Center, or to find out if Hyperthermia is right for you, please call 570-348-7200, or 888-808-NROC (6762). More information can also be obtained at www.TreatWithHeat.com.  

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New Liquid Radiation Cancer Treatment is First in NEPA
(Eliminates Travel for non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma Patients)

Northeast Radiation Oncology Center in Dunmore has become the site of the area’s first Zevalin ‘liquid radiation’ procedure—a new cancer treatment designed specifically for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) patients. The Zevalin therapeutic regimen is indicated for patients with NHL that does not respond to conventional therapy, or lymphoma that returns after initially responding to therapy.

The procedure involves separate infusions and is administered in a few stages--partly by an oncologist, and subsequently by a radiation oncologist. Chi Tsang, M.D., of Radiation Medicine Associates of Scranton, is the physician at Northeast Radiation Oncology Center (NROC) performing the latter infusion.

Previously, candidates for this procedure had to travel out of Northeast Pennsylvania for the treatment. The effectiveness of this new treatment was determined by how well patients responded to treatment in clinical trials. According to Biogen Idec, Inc., in separate clinical studies the overall response rate of patients who received the Zevalin therapeutic regimen was between 74 and 80%.

That encouraging response rate helped to inspire the NROC physicians to achieve the necessary collaboration between radiation oncology, medical oncology and nuclear medicine services, and meet the stringent requirements to offer the procedure in Northeast PA. Anyone desiring more information on this new procedure is asked to call Northeast Radiation Oncology Center at 570-504-7200, or 888-808-NROC (6762).

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World’s Most Advanced Cancer Treatment Comes to Milford

Continuing the pioneering efforts of bringing to Northeast Pennsylvania and the Tri-state area the most advanced technologies, the physicians of Northeast Radiation Oncology Centers have introduced their newest service, the TomoTherapy Hi-Art System. Until now available only in the largest metropolitan centers around the country, the very latest innovation in radiotherapy is conveniently available at home at Upper Delaware Valley Cancer Center in Milford, Pennsylvania.

Dr. Mike Gallagher states, “We are also pleased that our new partner in NROC’s medical group, Jose Luis Pino-y-Torres, M.D., is one of the most experienced radiation oncologists in the world in the use of TomoTherapy. Dr. Pino-y-Torres trained at Johns Hopkins, brought Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy to MD Anderson/Orlando, and was instrumental in bringing the first TomoTherapy Hi-Art System in the United States to that facility.”

TomoTherapy is the most precise radiation cancer treatment for people with the most complex and challenging cases. “This cutting-edge technology allows the delivery of 360 degree precision radiation therapy, and will have tremendous positive impact on patients,” states Dr. Pino.  “It is the first system that provides 3-D imaging immediately prior to each treatment, confirming with pinpoint accuracy the exact location for the delivery of radiation.”

The TomoTherapy Hi-Art System advances the 15-year commitment of the NROC group with Wayne Memorial Hospital, Honesdale, Bon Secours Hospital, Port Jervis, and Mercy Hospital, Scranton, in providing the very best cancer treatment and research for patients.

On October 12, the Center took a break for a few hours to host an open house. More than 130 patients, physicians and community leaders joined Dr. Pino and his partners and staff in the celebration.  Those attending enjoyed tours of the newly refurbished Center, learning about treatment planning and the Hi-Art System.

Serving tri-state area patients and families with compassion and premier radiation therapy services, Upper Delaware Valley Cancer Center is located in beautiful Pike County, Pennsylvania.  As medical director of the Center, Dr. Jose Pino oversees a dynamic team of fully certified therapists, dosimetrists, physicists, nurses, a social worker and dietitian.  Patients of the center are assured they are getting the most up-to-date care, via both TomoTherapy and ongoing clinical trials.

For more information on TomoTherapy at Upper Delaware Valley Cancer Center, please call 570-296-4411, or 866-549-TOMO.

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NROC First in Northeast PA to Offer

New Treatment for Prostate Cancer

Northeast Radiation Oncology Center (NROC) has become the first facility in Northeast PA to offer High-Dose Rate (HDR) Brachytherapy, a new treatment option for prostate cancer patients. NROC has been a national center of excellence for the treatment of prostate cancer, offering patients the choice of nine weeks of external beam radiation treatments, five weeks of the treatments followed by seed implantation, or often seed implant alone.

HDR Brachytherapy gives patients yet another option in the fight against cancer, and is performed in the Operating Room at Mercy Hospital by a team headed by a radiation oncologist and a urologist. Catheters are placed securely near the treatment area, allowing an exact pathway for radiation to travel to the tumor later that day.

“This new method helps us to protect three critical organs:  the urethra, rectum and bladder,” says Madhava Baikadi, M.D.  “It enables the physics team to conduct treatment planning more precisely, and has a low level of side effects for our patients.  Additionally, it furthers the opportunity to continue the nationally recognized clinical research performed by our group for the past 15 years.”

As a member of the Jefferson Cancer Network, (Jefferson University, Philadelphia), NROC at Mercy Hospital is following RTOG (Radiation Therapy Oncology Group) clinical trial protocols for HDR Brachytherapy.  This service is not available elsewhere in Northeast or Central Pennsylvania, and before it was offered by NROC at Mercy Hospital, those from Northeast PA had to travel at least as far as Philadelphia for this option.

The procedure requires one overnight admission to Mercy Hospital, is available to prostate cancer patients after five weeks of external beam radiation visits, and is covered by most insurances.  For more information on HDR Brachytherapy at NROC, please call 570-348-7200.