New imaging and targeting technology has made external radiation treatments at Providence more accurate and more effective than ever before. But imagine injecting a highly focused dose of radiation directly into the tumor itself. This innovative therapy is available today to many patients at Providence, including some patients with prostate or breast cancer.
HDR at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center is one of the most direct means of delivering cancer-fighting radiation to the tumor site. In a convenient outpatient procedure, Providence radiation oncologists are able to send a tiny radiation source through a small catheter or needle inserted directly into an existing tumor or into the site where a tumor has been removed surgically.
When the tumor or tumor site has been completely irradiated with an accuracy of within a few millimeters, the radiation source is then retracted and the catheters withdrawn. The entire treatment process takes about 30 to 60 minutes, and the patient is then able to get on with his or her day with no radiation remaining in the body.
Because the treatment is so powerful and so precise, a patient may only require a few visits to Providence Radiation Oncology for therapy. Fewer treatments mean fewer side effects and a quicker recovery for most patients.
