Radiation Therapy

Experience matters. At Virginia Mason Franciscan Health Cancer Care, our specially trained and experienced radiation oncologists are part of a multidisciplinary team that uses leading-edge technology for the most accurate diagnoses, followed by state-of-the-art radiation therapy treatments to give you the best chance for recovery.

Radiation may be used before, during or after surgery and chemotherapy as part of a targeted approach to shrinking or eradicating tumors. The radiation oncology team at Virginia Mason Franciscan Health meets and exceeds the American College of Radiology accreditation standards for the delivery of radiation therapy.

We tailor treatment to each individual’s needs. Not only are we able to pinpoint the radiation in a precise way that has the least impact on healthy tissue, but we can also arrange treatment schedules to minimize disruption to your daily life.

Virginia Mason Franciscan Health has long been a pioneer in short-course treatment. Many patients can now have treatment schedules that are much shorter than the five to six weeks of a standard schedule. This includes hypofractionated regimens that allow us to shave two weeks off standard treatment schedules while maintaining the same effectiveness and outcomes.

Innovative approaches available include:

• Image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT): uses 3D images to pinpoint your tumor’s location
• Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT): uses two state-of-the-art linear accelerators to deliver precise radiation doses to a tumor
• Intraoperative radiation therapy (IORT): a one-time breast cancer treatment administered into the tumor bed at the time of breast surgery
• Brachytherapy: a radioactive implant that treats cancer from inside the body
• Stereotactic radiosurgery for tumors throughout the body (including the brain): uses 3D imaging to deliver precise, high doses of radiation to treat tumors while sparing surrounding tissue
• 3D conformal radiation therapy: uses shaped radiation beams that match the shape of the tumor
• Contrast-enhanced imaging techniques: uses a contrast agent to more easily detect tumors
• Radiopharmacy: uses radioactive drugs to treat cancer