Radiation oncology uses penetrating beams of high-energy radiation to injure and destroy cells by damaging their genetic material, making it impossible for the cells to continue to grow. Radiation can be used in concert with surgery and/or chemotherapy to halt the progression of cancer or minimize distressing side effects of the disease.
State-of-the-art radiation available at Holy Name:
- Image-Guided Radiation Therapy (IGRT) – Doctors use online computerized imaging technologies to pinpoint the precise location of the tumor immediately before every treatment session and position the patient accurately on a daily basis. The process is aimed at improving treatment accuracy so that a smaller, more defined field of treatment can be used, which better protects healthy tissue surrounding the tumor and enables delivery of a higher dose of radiation to more effectively control the tumor.
- Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT)- is now the gold standard in radiation treatment for many cancers, and is available at Holy Name. The Regional Cancer Center's late generation Varian-brand technology allows physicians to shape multiple beams of high-energy radiation to the precise dimensions of a malignancy, maximizing the dose of radiation to the tumor while minimizing exposure to surrounding healthy tissues.
- CT-Guided Prone-Breast Radiation Therapy – Unlike most breast radiation treatments, in which the patient receives radiation while lying on her back, Prone-Breast Radiation Therapy is administered while the patient lies facedown. With the breasts projected downward, radiation can be aimed with greater precision at the breast, while PET/CT is being used for diagnosis, staging and radiation treatment planning at Holy Name Hospital. It is available at only select hospitals across New Jersey.
- Holy Name is the first hospital to use respiratory-gated PET/CT for respiratory-gated radiation treatment planning and during radiation therapy.
- High dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy is a computer-driven method allowing placement of a radiation source, or "seed," directly into a cancerous area.
- Stereotactic radiosurgery for brain lesions.
- GliaSite for the treatment of brain tumors.
- MammoSite for the treatment of breast cancer after lumpectomy, in appropriate patients.
Contact Information
The Regional Cancer Center
At Holy Name Hospital
201-541-5900