Services
Radiation Oncology
What if you didn't have to have surgery?
What if you could attack the tumor and still preserve the healthy cells? That's the whole idea behind 3D Treatment Planning and Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy. And if that sounds futuristic, it is.
Computers create 3D maps of the tumor locations so we know exactly where to focus the radiation. Then we control the beams so they only attack the diseased area. We maximize the treatment and minimize the side effects.
Another way to do this is to place radioactive materials in and around the tumors.
This outpatient treatment known as brachytherapy or "seed implantation" usually takes about an hour. And it is very effective against prostate cancer.
Our radiation patients also have access to clinical trials of the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group, a national cooperative funded by the National Cancer Institute.
Zapping cancer with GPS.
It's the same Global Positioning System you find in cars, boats and cell phones. But that's not all it can do. In 2009, The Tate Cancer Center became the first hospital in Maryland to offer the Calypso® 4D Localizing System™.
It's a precision guided, radiation therapy that uses continuous organ-motion detection to ensure only the tumors are destroyed. And it's a major advance in the fight against prostate cancer.
Three Beacon® electromagnetic transponders, each about the size of a grain of rice, are implanted in the patient's prostate prior to radiation therapy. Through the course of daily radiation treatments, the transponders allow specialists to constantly track the prostate and make the appropriate adjustments, crucial considering how organs move, even when a patient is completely still. For more information about the Calypso® 4D Localization System™, call 410-878-3087.
Radiation oncology services include:
- 3D treatment planning
- Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT)
- Brachytherapy or "seed implantation"
- Calypso® 4D Localization System™ or GPS for the Body®
Baltimore Washington Medical Center's cancer specialists, as well as those at the University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center in Baltimore, provide radiation oncology services at the Tate Cancer Center. For more information or to make an appointment, please call 410-553-8100.
