Different Options in Treating Cancer

There are many methods used in the treatment of cancer.  Oncology physicians will work with one another to determine the best treatment combination to treat your unique cancer situation.

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy drugs are a type of poison that is given via injection directly into the blood stream.  Some chemotherapy treatments can be taken by mouth, all to treat and reduce the size of cancerous tumors.  Chemo is the treatment options that is most common when dealing with metastatic cancers such as, Carcinoma of Unknown Primary, C.U.P., that have spread throughout the body.  When your treatment includes surgery as well the term Adjuvant Chemotherapy will be commonly used.  This refers to medicine that is given after surgery to prevent reoccurrence.  Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy refers to medicine that is given prior to surgery to shrink tumors.

There are a number of chemotherapy options that can be used in treating cancer.  To be effective it must be tailored to the primary site of cancer.  Every patient and every cancer will require a different, specialized treatment plan.  Often times a combination of treatments needs to be used in order to fully treat cancer.  Chemotherapy is often used as one piece in combination to treat cancerous cells.

Radiation Therapy

Radiotherapy uses beams of radiation to destroy cancer cells.  Beams of radiation are aimed at precise areas where cancerous cells are located in order to shrink or eliminate the tumor.  Radiation is delivered using linear accelerators.  Linear accelerators can deliver high powered radiation beams directly to the tumors while missing the surrounding healthy cells.

Radiation therapy is used as both a curative and palliative treatment.  Curative treatment seeks a long-lasting cure and reduction of cancer cells returning.  Palliative treatment seeks to reduce and slow down the symptoms being experienced with the cancer when there is no chance of curing the patient.  When determining your radiation treatment, doctors will look at the size, type, location, shape, and stage of the tumor, as well as the health of the patient and overall purpose of treatment.  A plan will be developed and executed according to a strict plan.

Hormone Therapy

Hormone therapy uses sex hormones to treat hormone sensitive/dependent cancers like breast, prostate, and womb cancers where the cancerous tumors and cells grow because of estrogen and testosterone. Hormone therapy is often used in combination with other treatments.

Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy works in an effort to replicate the persons actual immune system to reject and destroy cancerous cells.  This can be done through “immunization” in which a patient own immune system is trained to see cancerous cells and destroy them.  It can also be administered in a way that recruits the patients own immune system to kill the cancerous cells.

Surgery

When it is possible, surgery is the best option at offering a cure for most cancers however is not appropriate for CUP patients.  Surgery is most often used in treatment when the primary site of cancer is identified.
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Radiation Therapy: Goals and Understanding

High-energy x-rays or particles used to destroy cancerous tumors and cells is known as radiation therapy.  A number of doctors specialize in treating cancer.  A radiation oncologist is the specialist that is trained to deliver radiation therapy to treat cancer.  The team of cancer specialists treating you and your cancer will develop a radiation schedule that delivers radiation at consistent intervals over the course of a set time period.

Radiation Therapy Goals

The goals of treatment using radiation is to slow the growth of cancerous tumors and destroy cancer cells without causing permanent damage to the surrounding healthy tissues and cells.  Most often doctors will recommend radiation therapy as the first line of treating cancer.  It can also be given with great results after surgery or chemotherapy.  When this is done it is known as adjuvant therapy.  This targets the “leftovers”, the cells containing cancer after the initial treatment.

Sometimes it is not possible to destroy all of the cancer.  If this is the case with your cancer specialists will use radiation to shrink the tumor to relieve the symptoms.  This is known as palliative radiation therapy.  In palliative therapy treatment is done to reduce the pressure, pain, and symptoms of cancer.  It is done to create a better quality of life for the patient.  If palliative therapy is done it is not done necessarily to cure the cancer but instead to increase the quality of life after diagnosis.

If you are diagnosed with cancer there is more than a fifty percent chance that you will receive a form of radiation therapy in treating your cancer.  Many forms of cancer react better with a combination of treatments such as radiation therapy with surgery, chemotherapy, or immunotherapy.

Using a Linear Accelerator

The most common delivery of radiation therapy is external-beam.  This consists of radiation being delivered to the patient using a machine known as a linear accelerator from the outside of the body. This machine creates a beam of radiation that is delivered through the skin directly to the cancerous tumor.   Specialized computer software is used in conjunction with LINAC to adjust the size and shape of the radiation beam specific to each patient’s tumor.  Targeting the exact shape and size of the tumor and cancer cells allows radiation oncologists to avoid healthy tissues that sit near the cancerous cells.

Treatment is normally given every day, Monday – Friday, for several weeks.  If treatment is to be given to the head, neck or brain, a form-fitting support or plastic mesh mask is used to prevent the patient from moving during radiation therapy. 

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Options in Radiation Therapy Delivery

Did you know that October is Breast Cancer Awareness month?  Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer that is treated in the United States with over 250,000 new cases being diagnosed each year.   It is estimated that this year, 2018 we will have approximately 1,735,350 cases of cancer diagnosed.  With this number expected to continue to grow, the techniques used in delivering radiation therapy, the most popular treatment option, are continuing to advance.  
Radiation treatment for cancers of all types may be delivered externally or internally.  With external radiation a beam of high-energy rays is directed towards the tumor from outside of the body.  This delivery is most often done using a large piece of equipment known as a linear accelerator or LINACS for short.  Internal radiation, brachytherapy, requires the implantation of seeds containing radioactive material to be place in or near the cancer.  Another method of delivering radiation in cases of cancers like that found within the thyroid is sent directly into the vein.  Treatment options for cancer continue to advance as better methods are found to deliver radiation without causing harm to healthy cells surrounding the cancerous tissues.

EBRT – External Beam Radiation Therapy

Linear accelerators are used to deliver external beam radiation therapy.  Radiation is delivered from outside of the body by penetrating cancerous cells with high-energy external radiation beams.  This dense radiation beam is used to kill or shrink the cancerous tumor without harming healthy tissues.  Linear accelerators allow for a more precise treatment of radiation which leads to fewer side effects.  EBRT is most often prescribed on an outpatient basis for upwards of eight weeks.

3D-CRT – Three-Dimensional Conformal Radiation Therapy

Another method of EBRT is done using a specialized computed tomography scan, CT scanner and targeting computer.  This radiation treatment gives oncologists the ability to perform three-dimensional conformal radiation.  This type of therapy reduces damage to healthy tissues while delivering a higher dose of radiation to the target area.

IMRT – Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy

IMRT is another three-dimensional option in radiation therapy.  It gives the oncologist the ability to customize the doses given to each area of the tumor.  Using computer-controlled sections that are movable, radiation is delivered.  The sections are used to adjust the amount od radiation that is given at any one time.  They can block or allow radiation beams through to the treatment area.  The sections are adjusted to the size, shape, and location of the tumor.  It is similar to an adjustable showerhead where the streams of water can be adjusted, some areas offer thicker streams than others.

IGRT – Image-Guided Radiation Therapy

IGRT is a fairly new radiation treatment.  This type of therapy involves a number of images to be taking during the radiation treatment.  Computers compare the original images that were taken during the planning phase with the images that are coming through during treatment for comparison.  This allows the patient’s body position to be adjusted to shift treatment to the exact location of the tumor.  This treatment increases the accuracy of radiation while providing documentation within degrees of accuracy.  Image-guided radiation therapy can be used along with EBRT, 3D-CRT, and IMRT.

IORT – Intraoperative Therapy

Treatment using intraoperative therapy is delivered directly to the cancerous tumor during surgery.  This allows a higher dose of radiation to be delivered directly to the cancer while decreasing the exposure of radiation to healthy tissues.  These healthy tissues can be moved and shielded during surgery and exposure to radiation.  IORT is often used in cancers that are localized, difficult to remove, and have a high risk of reoccurring.

Brachytherapy

Brachytherapy is also known as internal radiation.  Seeds of radioactive materials are implanted directly into or near the cancer.  This type of radiation therapy is often given when an additional dose of radiation is needed during EBRT but can also be used alone.  Overtime if the seeds are not removed the radioactive material will diminish, it can also be removed after a specific period of time.  This is dependent on the treatment plan for each unique patient and cancer.  Often Brachytherapy is used in treating prostate, cervix, uterine, vaginal, head, neck, and breast cancer.

SRS – Stereotactic Radiosurgery

Most widely used in treating brain tumors, arteriovenous malformation, and other selected conditions, SRS is a non-invasive option.  It delivers a high dose of radiation to a super defined area.  This type of radiation treatment delivers what is normally spread out amongst weeks of treatment in just one single treatment.  It can also be in a fractional manner over just a few weeks.
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Treatment with Radiation Therapy

What is radiation therapy?

There are a number of options to treat cancer, radiation therapy is just one of them.  There are a number of ways in which radiation can be delivered.  The method that is used to treat your individual type of cancer is dependent solely on the nature of your cancer.  External beam therapy delivers radiation directly to the tumor through a machine known as a linear accelerator, from outside your body.

How does it work?

Radiation treatment targets cancer cells during treatment however this does not mean that the healthy cells around the area won’t be affected by treatment.  Thankfully, radiation treatment has the greatest affect on the cancerous cells.  Treatment using a LINAC system delivers the highest amount of radiation treatment that can be safely given, to the cancerous area.  This treatment is aimed at killing cancer cells.  Sometimes smaller doses of radiation are given.  This is usually the case where doctors are hoping to shrink the tumor and offer relief to the patient vs attempting to “cure” the patient.

Who takes care of the patient?

A doctor that specializes in cancer is referred to as a radiotherapist or radiation oncologist.  They are in charge of planning and overseeing treatment that will be administer by a radiation therapist.  A number of specialists will be involved in treating your cancer including: nurses, specialists, counselors, health care aids, and dietitians, depending on your unique needs.

Where is the treatment received? 

Treatment and delivery are designed with each unique patient in mind.  Treatment is performed in a hospital or clinic and is done in a manner that is suited to the persons receiving its particular needs.  A preliminary visit is scheduled in order to plan out your treatment plan.  The radiation oncologist and therapists will do this.  Using a simulator, x-rays, and scans skin is marked using different colored pens that help define the placement of treatment.  Permanent marks can be made using a special dye or tiny pin prick if needed.

Each of these marks allows the therapists administering radiation to ascertain the exact area that needs to be treated during each and every treatment session.  If you are using a head shell, the guidance marks will be added to the shell rather than to your skin.  Radiation treatment can also be delivered to the mouth and throat area.  If this is the case a dental assessment will be done, along with necessary dental treatments and then radiation therapy can begin.

As an independent LINAC service company, Acceletronics is dedicated to delivering the best equipment performance and services for linear accelerators and CT scanners across all major brands and models, as well as new and refurbished LINAC systems for sale.  More information can be found online at https://www.acceletronics.com/.