Treatment Options

Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) — This form of conformal radiation therapy allows the intensity of the radiation beam to be varied across the treatment field, delivering higher radiation doses to target areas while sparing healthy tissue. Types of IMRT include:

• TomoTherapy® Unit — This treatment system integrates optimized planning, daily CT imaging and helical IMRT treatment to provide precise, continuous radiation therapy from 360 degrees.
• TrueBeam™ Linear Accelerator — The Linear Accelerator from Varian Medical Systems is an advanced radiotherapy system that opens up treatment options for some of the most complex cancers in areas such as the head and neck, lung, breast, abdomen and liver. The advanced imaging and powerful treatment modes allow our doctors to tailor treatments specific to your particular cancer.

Conformal Radiotherapy — Using a 24-slice CT simulator, we design a precise treatment plan by creating a three-dimensional model of the patient, tumor and surrounding normal structures. Multiple radiation beams are then positioned and customized exactly to the treatment area. Our CT scanner is one of only a few in Kansas capable of four-dimensional CT scanning. This added dimension in scanning provides important information on tumor movement during the normal respiratory cycle which enables our radiation oncologists to tailor margins around the tumor to account for movement.

I-131 Therapy — This treatment involves radioactive medicine taken orally and it is most commonly used for thyroid disorders.

Image Guided Radiation Therapy (IGRT) — This therapy uses imaging during radiation therapy to improve the precision and accuracy of treatment delivery. IGRT is used to treat tumors in areas of the body that move, such as the lungs. Radiation therapy machines are equipped with imaging technology to allow your doctor to image the tumor before and during treatment. By comparing these images to the reference images taken during simulation, the patient’s position and/or the radiation beams may be adjusted. As a result, we are able to more precisely target the radiation dose to the tumor. Some IGRT procedures may use fiducial markers, electromagnetic transponders or colored ink tattoos on the skin to help align and target the radiation equipment.