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"The amazing thing about this new technology is that it promises to helpincrease survival rates and decrease complications," says Janice Hoss, R.N.,director of cancer services at Sutter Solano Cancer Center. "IMRT is moreprecise -- sparing healthy tissue and allowing for treatments that can becustom designed for each patient's situation."
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Using advanced 3D computer modeling, SmartBeam(TM) IMRT carefully targetstumor cells by wrapping beams of radiation around healthy tissue and vitalorgans. This precise targeting allows higher, more effective doses ofradiation to be delivered to cancerous cells, giving clinicians a betterpossibility of fully eradicating the tumor, rather than simply causing atemporary regression.
"We can form the shape of the radiation beam to the exact shape of thetumor from any angle," says Hoss. "The result is shorter treatment times andfewer complications. This truly represents a major breakthrough in cancertreatment that benefits our patients' quality of life and the community weserve."
Recent studies performed at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in NewYork, N.Y., for example, have shown that IMRT leads to improved cure rates anddecreased complications. The studies demonstrated that in certain cases ofcancer, cure rates were improved from 43 to 96 percent using IMRT, and thecomplication rate dropped from six percent to two percent.
SSCC continues to provide area residents with the same breakthroughcancer-treating technology used in medical facilities with world-classreputations. Most recently, SSCC has added respiratory gating capabilities.Primarily used for certain cases of breast and lung cancer, respiratorygaiting allows clinicians to place radiation beams precisely and track theposition of tumors as they move when a patient breathes. SSCC expects to starttreating its first patients using respiratory gating within the next month.
About Sutter Solano Medical Center
For more than 100 years, SSMC has been committed to the community byproviding emergency care, delivering babies, and serving others in time ofneed. The medical center has 111 licensed beds and is fully accredited by TheJoint Commission, an independent, non-profit with the mission to continuouslyimprove the safety and quality of care provided to the public.
Sutter Solano Cancer Center is fully accredited by the Commission onCancer of the American College of Surgeons -- a recognition only one in fourcancer centers receive. Comprehensive cancer services include chemotherapy,infusion therapy, laboratory and pathology, pain management and radiationtherapy.
SSMC is part of Sutter Health, a not-for-profit network of hospitals,doctors, and nurses who share expertise and resources to advance health carequality.
SOURCE Sutter Solano Medical Center
