New technology eases cancer treatment: Rapid Radiation
July 9th, 2009 Posted in radiation therapyUndergoing radiation therapy can be a weary process for cancer patients.
There are daily, weekday trips to therapy for six to eight weeks. Patients can become fatigued and often have to cope with side effects of treatment.
During visits, they must lie perfectly still inside a linear accelerator that directs beams of radiation to zap tumors. The treatment typically takes about 20 minutes plus time for radiation therapists to set up everything.
Now new technology called RapidArc is reducing treatment to about 5 minutes or less. St. Dominic Hospital has offered it since April. It treats tumors the same way, only faster and without exposing as much healthy tissue to radiation. At the same time, this new technology allows doctors to treat more patients in specific time slots.
RapidArc treatment doesn’t cost patients more, and it’s usually covered by insurance