Radiation Oncology

Radiation Oncology

Radiation Therapy for Cancer Patients

Hutch Regional is dedicated to providing our patients with the most compassionate, highest-quality radiation oncology care in the region. This type of treatment is designed to shrink tumors and kill cancer cells. About half of all cancer patients get radiation therapy during their care.

We specialize in a wide range of radiation treatments. These include:

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. This information enables our radiation oncologists to tailor margins around the tumor to account for movement.

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

Image Guided Radiation Therapy (IGRT) — IGRT is the use of 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 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.

Hutchinson Radiation Oncology Associates

620-662-1212

Chalmers Cancer
Treatment Center

1701 E. 23rd Ave. #100
Hutchinson, KS 67502

Dr. Shirley Butler-Xu, Radiation Oncologist, Hutchinson Regional Healthcare System, looking and smiling at camera with TrueBeam™ Linear Accelerator blurred out in background

Y. Shirley Butler-Xu, M.D.​

Radiation Oncologist

Medical School
  • Summa Cum Laude graduate of the University of Michigan College of Chemical Engineering; Wayne State University School of Medicine
Residency
  • University of Kansas Health Center Department of Radiation Oncology
Board Certification
  • Radiation Oncology
Professional Organizations
  • American Society for Radiation Oncology
  • Asian Pacific American Medical Student Association
  • American Medical Association

Please call 620-662-1212 to learn more or schedule an appointment.

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