Radiation Oncologists, P.C. Our Specialties

Brachytherapy

Brachytherapy is the branch of radiation oncology that utilizes radioactive materials placed within or adjacent to cancers, and certain benign processes. The term brachytherapy comes from the Greek root “brachy” meaning short, in that the radiation treatment travels only a short distance to reach its target. This is in contrast to external radiation treatment techniques, in which radiation travels over a distance to reach its target. The advantage of brachytherapy is that it allows a higher radiation dose to be given to the cancerous area while giving surrounding normal tissue less radiation (safer). Brachytherapy has been a well established form of cancer treatment and can be used alone, or in conjunction with external radiation treatments.

As with all forms of cancer treatment, brachytherapy is technically demanding, and requires a dedicated team of health care professionals to provide superior patient satisfaction and cancer treatment success. We are proud of our team, our history of innovation and success, and our vast experience which is unmatched in the region.

Radiation Oncologists P.C. has been the regional leader in brachytherapy for some time. This role was solidified in 1991 when the only high dose rate remote afterloader between Seattle and San Francisco was installed at the Legacy Good Samaritan Hospital campus. This robot like computer-controlled machine brought many improvements including the reduction of treatment times from days to minutes, the change of treatments from inpatient hospitalization often requiring anesthesia to outpatient visits with sedation at most, and the elimination of radiation safety issues for physicians, and nurses.

In early 2003, after a year of training and preparation, we launched our program of accelerated partial breast irradiation using brachytherapy alone, again the first, and to date only program in the region. This provides women with early breast cancer an alternative to six weeks of daily external radiation treatments and can be accomplished in just over one week. This can be especially useful for patients without easy access to a radiation treatment facility and provides an excellent alternative to mastectomy. A number of selection criteria exists to assure the highest likelihood of successful treatment. (Techniques include multiple catheter interstitial techniques which provide the greatest flexibility and treatment control. An alternative is the single catheter and balloon technique (Mammosite) which is more convenient but more limited in its applicability.)