Undergoing radiation therapy? Here’s how linear accelerators improve your treatment.
Sophisticated radiation therapy techniques at Reid Health Cancer Center deliver advanced and completely customized cancer treatment. Linear accelerators are one such technique and among the most advanced cancer treatment techniques available today. They deliver a targeted beam of radiation that treats cancerous growths in patients. If you have been diagnosed with cancer and your oncologist recommends radiation linear accelerator technology could help improve your outcomes. Here are just a few of the many benefits of linear accelerators for cancer treatment:
Customized care
Linear accelerators use detailed digital images to pinpoint tumors with incredible accuracy. This technique is called image-guided radiation therapy. They can also track and compensate for tumor motion. Before each session your radiation therapy expert will program the linear accelerator to treat individual tumors accounting for their size and position in the body. The radiation therapy is then delivered directly to cancerous cells destroying them. Because of this technicians can target your cancer more precisely and minimize risk to healthy tissues.
Treatment in any area of the body
Cancerous growths can occur in many places throughout the body and linear accelerators can treat them wherever they are. Radiation therapies including linear accelerators target specific cancerous growths. Linear accelerators can be used to treat cancer in any part of the body including the breast uterus cervix or prostate.
Increased cancer cure rates
Linear accelerators allow treatment experts to track your cancer as it changes each day. Tracking cancer on a daily basis makes it easier to adapt each treatment as the tumors change increasing the cure rate.
More comfortable treatment
Cancer treatment can seem scary especially if treatment sessions are long and uncomfortable. Cancer treatment techniques such as TrueBeam and iX linear accelerators make radiation sessions faster. Treatment sessions that may have lasted 10 to 30 minutes can now be completed in less than two minutes. Faster sessions make treatment more comfortable for you as the patient.
Linear accelerators improve cancer treatment. They make cancer treatment sessions faster increase cure rates and are completely customized to an individual’s needs. For more information on linear accelerators for radiation therapy visit Reid Health’s Cancer Center. Doctors at Reid Health use the most sophisticated technology available in treatment plans tailored to each patient. Your Reid Health oncologist will work closely with you and the radiation therapy team to develop a personalized care plan that includes side effect management education and emotional support.
The Reid Health board recently approved the purchase of the latest most advanced linear accelerator the Varian Edge. Installation is expected to be completed in 2019.