Radiation Therapies Offered at NROC…

Radiation Treatment Technologies Unduplicated in the Region

The team of physicians at Northeast Radiation Oncology Center (NROC) offers the most comprehensive, advanced radiation therapy technologies available in Northeastern Pennsylvania.  Doctors at NROC carefully advise patients about which type of radiation therapy is most effective for their type and stage of cancer.  Radiation treatment and treatment planning technologies available at NROC include:

TomoTherapy^®

The TomoTherapy Hi-ART System^® is the 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.

Patients can 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. 

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.  Dosage and location of delivery via the radiation beam are determined.  The patient then moves through the Hi×Art machine again where radiation is delivered in a helical pattern (360 degrees) to the tumor.  Each procedure takes approximately 15 minutes. Please see the animated video on our HOME page for further details.

External Beam Radiation Therapy

External Beam Radiation Therapy (EBRT):  EBRT is the most common type of radiation therapy used for treating cancer.   It is called “external beam” because a concentrated beam of radiation is delivered from an external source, known as a linear accelerator, directly into the tumor site.  EBRT has been highly effective for many years in treating cancer.  Numerous advances in perfecting EBRT continue to improve the precision and usefulness of this standard therapy.

Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT):  IMRT is the latest form of external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) available for cancer treatment.  State-of-the-art IMRT utilized at NROC allows the delivery of a maximum dose of radiation to the tumor site with minimum damage to the surrounding healthy tissue.  This means patients experience few, if any, unwanted side effects from their therapy and they can maintain a normal, healthy life style during their radiation treatments.

IMRT delivers very small beams, or beamlets, of radiation aimed at the tumor from many angles.  The intensity and shape of the beamlets change constantly during each treatment to conform to the individual treatment site.  As a result, the radiation dose bends to target the cancerous tissue directly, avoiding damage to surrounding health tissue.

Brachytherapy

Brachytherapy is a specialized form of radiation treatment.  At NROC, brachytherapy is most often used for men with prostate cancer and for women with early-stage breast cancer or cancer of the reproductive organs.  It is also helpful for patients with cancer of the mouth and throat, and for some patients with cancer of the esophagus, lung, or bile duct.

Brachy is derived from the Greek word meaning short.  Brachytherapy delivers an intense form of radiation over a short distance through small needles or catheters directly into the tumor site, or near the site, to destroy the cancer cells.

NROC physicians have extensive experience in providing Brachytherapy and have treated more people with Brachytherapy than most other physicians in Pennsylvania.  NROC utilizes the most innovative types of brachytherapy available.  Also known as internal radiation, implant radiation, or interstitial radiation therapy, brachytherapy is highly accurate and delivers maximum effectiveness of the radiation in eliminating the tumor.

Brachytherapy for Prostate Cancer:  Men with prostate cancer have 2 very effective types of brachytherapy to choose from at NROC facilities:

• High Dose Rate (HDR) Brachytherapy:  NROC is the first and only facility in Northeastern Pennsylvania to offer HDR Brachytherapy, the state-of-the-art treatment option for men with prostate cancer.  This new treatment technique inserts a precisely- focused dose of radiation through a needle directly to the tumor site.  The needle then withdraws the radiation so no radioactive material is left within the body.   HDR Brachytherapy allows extremely precise treatment planning and delivery, thus protecting the three critical surrounding organs, the urethra, rectum and bladder.  This greatly reduces side effects that often result from surgery, such as impotence and incontinence. 

• Permanent Seed Brachytherapy:  Permanent Seed Brachytherapy is another treatment option for prostate cancer.  Like HDR brachytherapy, permanent seed brachytherapy helps significantly to preserve a patient’s quality of life.  The procedure involves the surgical implantation of radioactive “seeds” into the prostate gland.  Typically 80 to120 seeds are delivered through hollow needles under ultrasound visualization.  This procedure, unlike prostatectomy (surgery to remove the prostate gland), can usually be performed on an outpatient basis, and it also reduces the most common side effects from surgery, such as impotence and incontinence. 

MammoSite Brachytherapy for Early Stage Breast Cancer:  Some women with early stage breast cancer who have elected to have a lumpectomy followed by radiation therapy are eligible for a brachytherapy procedure known as MammoSite radiation treatment.  Unlike standard external beam radiation following lumpectomy, which takes 5 to 7 weeks, MammSite therapy is delivered directly to the affected breast tissue over a period of 5 days.

Other Specialized Therapies

Radioactive Iodine 1-131 therapy and Follow-up Clinic:  NROC physicians provide radioactive iodine treatment (I 131) for people who require this highly specialized therapy and follow-up care after the entire or partial removal of their thyroid because of cancer.  Regional Hospital of Scranton, which is an NROC partner, is the only facility in Lackawanna County licensed and equipped for the inpatient stay that is necessary for this procedure. 
Click Here for more information

Radioimmunotherapy:  NROC physicians provide the state-of-the-art radioimmunotherapy for patients with certain types of B-cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.  Also known as “liquid radiation”, radioimmunotherapy is available in Northeastern Pennsylvania only at NROC.

Radioisotope Therapy:  NROC physicians provide a sophisticated new radiation treatment known as radioisotope therapy for patients who are experiencing bone pain as a result of the spread of their cancer.  Radioisotope treatments are available in Northeastern Pennsylvania only at NROC.
Click Here for more information

Stereotactic Radiosurgery and Stereotactic Radiotherapy:  NROC physicians provide these two highly specialized stereotactic radiation treatment options for patients with certain types of brain tumors.
Click Here for more information

Hyperthermia:  Northeast Radiation Oncology Center at Mercy Hospital is one of only two locations in Pennsylvania where patients can benefit from Hyperthermia Therapy.  Hyperthermia therapy is a treatment used in battling cancer by heating tumors.  This therapy in combination with radiation therapy has been evaluated in clinical studies for the treatment of a number of different cancers that are progressive or recurrent despite conventional therapy.  These cancers include breast and chest wall, prostate, melanoma, head/neck, sarcomas and others.

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

Treatment Planning Techniques

 
Because of the highly specialized radiation treatment options at NROC, our professional staff utilizes the most sophisticated high-speed computers, treatment planning software, diagnostic imaging, and patient positioning devices specifically tailored for each patient.  These treatment planning technologies allow NROC physicians to define very precisely the anatomical position of the tumor and surrounding healthy tissue:

• Computed Tomography (CT):
• Positron Emission Tomography (PET):
• Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI):

To assure accurate positioning for each patient for each treatment, the NROC professionals design individual position immobilizing frames and also utilize advanced imaging devices for daily treatment monitoring such as:

• Electronic Portal Imaging
• Image Guided Radiation Therapy
• Scanning Ultrasound