Denver Radiation Therapy
Posted by Jamie | Posted in Doctors | Posted on 18-08-2011-05-2008
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For those looking for alternative therapies for cancer treatment, there is a Denver cancer clinic that you should look into for non-invasive radiation therapy.
Radiation therapy, also referred to as radiotherapy, is a non-invasive procedure that uses radiation to kill brain, lung, spine, prostate, liver, pancreas and kidney cancer cells. Five-year survival rates for early stage primary lung cancer patients undergoing this type of treatment have been reported in the range of 10-30%, which is lower than the survival rates of patients treated with surgery.
Conventional radiation therapy, called external beam radiation therapy, typically involves delivery of wide beams of radiation that encompass both the tumor and a significant amount of surrounding healthy tissue. These wide beams of radiation are necessary because tumors move as patients breathe. During this treatment, the radiation dose is limited to decrease the toxicity to the patient that can result from injuring healthy lung tissue. Therefore, conventional external beam radiation therapy is usually delivered in small doses of 30 to 40 sessions over four to six weeks. Rates of toxicity range widely in published studies, with short-term severe toxicity ranging from 10-30% and long-term severe toxicity (radiation pneumonitis) reported as 18%; attempts to increase the dose of radiation being delivered using conventional radiation therapy methods have resulted in even greater toxicity.
Because tumors with the chest can move large amounts as the patient breathes, it is necessary to irradiate with wide fields that include a large amount of normal surrounding tissue during this treatment. However, several techniques – such as respiratory gating, breath holding and the use of frames – have been developed to better compensate for this tumor motion and allow for smaller radiation fields to be used.
Visit www.denverck.com to learn more.
