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The Tate Cancer Center is proud to offer the most advanced radiation oncology to patients with cancer. Our experienced radiation oncologists use ionizing radiation to treat cancer, destroy tumors and preserve healthy tissue. Our radiation oncologists work as part of the cancer team alongside our surgical and medical oncologists. Our radiation oncology services include:

  • 3D treatment planning
  • Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT)
  • Brachytherapy or "seed implantation"
  • Use of advanced linear accelerators including Varian's Trilogy® System and Varian’s TrueBeam™ Radiotherapy System
  • Calypso® 4D Localization System™ or GPS for the Body®

What if you didn't have to have surgery?

Another way to do this is to place radioactive materials in and around the tumors. This outpatient treatment known as brachytherapy or "seed implantation" usually takes about an hour.

Our radiation patients also have access to clinical trials of NRG Oncology, a national cooperative funded by the National Cancer Institute.

Pin-pointing tumors to maximize treatment and minimize side effects

When someone has been diagnosed with cancer, it is important for the patient to review all available treatment options with his or her healthcare team. At the Tate Cancer Center, we coordinate all of our resources, from the expertise of our medical team to the sophistication of our technology, around each individual. We are proud to offer the latest techniques with advanced radiation equipment, including the Trilogy® System from Varian and Varian’s TrueBeam™ Radiotherapy System.

The Trilogy System provides powerful radiation cancer treatment technology capable of delivering all forms of external beam radiation therapy in one machine. Guided by 3D images of the patient's anatomy, Trilogy enables clinicians to position patients and deliver the radiation dose to a wide range of tumors with pinpoint accuracy.

The system features a high-powered medical linear accelerator, a machine that rotates around the patient to deliver radiotherapy treatments from virtually any angle. The system is able to concentrate radiation doses on the tumor while minimizing exposure of surrounding healthy tissue. This provides our team the tools to treat a broad range of cancers, such as those in the head and neck, breast, lung and prostate.

Trilogy combines imaging and treatment technologies, and can be used to deliver external beam radiotherapies including:

  • Intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT)
  • Image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT)
  • Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS)
  • Stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT)
  • RapidArc® radiotherapy

The Tate Cancer Center is also home to Varian’s TrueBeam™ Radiotherapy System. The TrueBeam platform is a fully-integrated system for image-guided radiotherapy and radiosurgery and treats cancer anywhere in the body where radiation treatment is indicated, including lung, breast, prostate and head and neck. This linear accelerator is capable of the same great treatment as the Trilogy System plus a few additional high-tech features, including:

  • An all digital platform ensuring faster treatments and greater patient safety
  • Advanced imaging platform for more precise tumor targeting
  • High quality 2D and 3D x-ray imaging for improved resolution and contrast
  • Optical surface imaging for improved targeting and gated treatments

trilogy_spread 

Targeting with GPS

In 2009, The Tate Cancer Center became the first hospital in Maryland to offer the Calypso® 4D Localizing System™. It's a precision guided, radiation therapy that uses continuous organ-motion detection to ensure only the tumors are destroyed.

Internal organs such as the prostate can shift during radiation treatment as a result of breathing and normal movement in the intestines. Calypso® 4D Localizing System™, also known as GPS for the Body®, allows radiation therapists to continuously track movement of internal organs in real time and concentrate radiation to the tumor, minimizing damage to nearby healthy tissue.

Three Beacon® electromagnetic transponders, each about the size of a grain of rice, are implanted in the patient's prostate prior to radiation therapy. Through the course of daily radiation treatments, the transponders allow specialists to constantly track the organ and make the appropriate adjustments.

For more information about our radiation oncology services at the Tate Cancer Center or to make an appointment, please call 410-553-8100.

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