New state-of-the-art technology designed with more precision, more comfort for the patient and less radiation than a common diagnostic CT scan is in use at Carle Cancer Institute Urbana.
With high quality imaging to visualize the cancer inside a patient, the machine allows avoidance o
f normal tissue during radiation - such as avoiding the rectum and bladder during radiation for prostate cancer. Vision RT technology allows body surface monitoring. This means more easily avoiding the heart in patients treated for breast cancer on the left side.
“Our goal is not to just treat cancer, but to do it safely,” Sinisa Stanic, MD, Carle Cancer Institute, medical director said.
Nicholas Shreffler, Carle Cancer Institute, executive director, said the new machine and software is part of the ongoing effort to update and maintain the best technology to serve cancer patients. What it offers in improved imaging quality is tremendous and the other units in use at the Urbana location will receive upgrades as well, he said.
One of the best parts about the new system is increased comfort for patients. Those receiving radiation no longer need to move to accommodate the equipment. The image-guided radiation therapy moves around the patient and a patient can see in real time where the tumor treatment is during the breathing cycle, Stefanie Nowak, RT(T)(R), Carle Cancer Institute Urbana, radiation oncology supervisor said.
The precision allows more healthy tissue to be secured from radiation exposure and by the end of summer, patients who typically have complete facial coverings during radiation of the larynx, tonsil, tongue or lymphatics will transition to a mask with an opening from the eyebrow to just under the nose, she said.
“Like other cancer treatment facilities, we often see women in their 30s or 40s receiving radiation treatment for breast cancer and later in life they may have heart valve issues, heart rhythm abnormalities or other heart problems due to radiation exposure of left breast treatment. To know we can spare them from heart problems down the road because of this scanning precision is so satisfying,” Nowak said.
Categories: Redefining Healthcare, Community
Tags: Breast cancer, cancer, Carle Cancer Institute, Champaign-Urbana