Technology and Advanced Treatments
The Center for Cancer Care is a comprehensive treatment center utilizing some of the world’s most sophisticated technologies. Equipped with a dual energy Linear Accelerator and a CT simulator, the Center can treat patients of any age, with any type of cancer, regardless of tumor size and location. In addition to a range of standard techniques, including external beam radiation and internal radiation therapy, we offer advanced radiation therapies for the treatment of cancer including High Dose Rate Brachytherapy (HDR) and Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT). 
Leading-Edge Technology
Our investement in technology includes:
CAD and Breast MRI: New diagnostic technologies include computer-aided detection (CAD) for enhanced interpretation of screening and diagnostic mammograms, as well as MRI of the breast. Breast MRI can supplement mammography and breast ultrasound to aid in early cancer detection and the diagnostic evaluation of benign breast disease.
da Vinci Surgical System: This minimally invasive surgical technology allows surgeons to perform many types of procedures through small incisions. Da Vinci is a robotic assist device that allows surgeons to perform laparoscopic surgery without making large (6- to 8-inch) incisions. Instead, surgeons make six small (1/4- to ½-inch) incisions to accommodate the miniature cameras and probe-like instruments they insert to perform the procedure. The result for patients is a much faster recovery, fewer side effects and less blood loss.
Learn more about the da Vinci Surgical System.
Varian Trilogy™ linear accelerator: Before the end of 2007, Good Shepherd Hospital will be the only facility in the area – and one of the few in the country – to offer image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT). This highly advanced machine is able to take into account the movement of the body and organs as patients breathe, allowing pinpoint precision in targeting tumors during radiation therapy and sparing healthy tissue.
64-slice CT scanner: Used to obtain three-dimensional, high-resolution images. Most often associated with cardiology, this advanced technology also can provide highly accurate scans in other disciplines, including oncology, in seconds.
Learn more about the 64-slice CT scanner.
Advanced Treatments
In addition to a range of standard techniques, including external beam radiation and internal radiation therapy, we offer advanced radiation therapies for the treatment of cancer including:
High Dose Rate (HDR) brachytherapy
HDR is one of the latest advances in brachytherapy treatment methods to target tumors confined to a small area with intense, localized doses of radiation. A high-intensity radiation source is passed through catheters that are temporarily placed in and near tumors. Deployed by computer, a highly radioactive seed is pushed into each of the catheters. After a series of treatments, the catheters are removed, and there are no radioactive seeds left in the body.
HDR, a leading-edge treatment:
- Applies a higher radiation dose directly to the tumor while sparing the good tissue and surrounding vital organs
- No radioactive material left in the body
- The radiation dose in different regions of the tumor site can be adjusted
- Successful in treating several cancer types, including prostate, endometrial, uterine, cervical, lung, colon, breast and skin tumors
Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT)
IMRT is the latest technology for treating tumors. IMRT directs multiple beams of varying intensity to maximize the radiation dose to the tumor while minimizing the radiation dose to benign and healthy tissues. This state-of-the-art technology, usually found only in large medical centers, is conveniently located next door to the hospital in the Center for Cancer Care.
Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA)
RFA is a minimally invasive treatment for cancer that kills cancer cells by heating and destroying them. Imaging tools such as CT scanning are used to direct a probe to the site of the cancer. From this probe, non-insulated electrodes, which are shaped like prongs, are projected into the tumor. The prongs look like an umbrella with no cover material. The prongs allow the doctor to deliver radio frequency energy to heat and "burn" the cancerous cells. The radiofrequency energy delivers a precise round ball of heat throughout the tumor killing the cancerous cells with little risk to adjacent normal structures. The dead tumor tissue shrinks and slowly forms a scar.
This treatment is primarily used to treat liver cancer, but may also be used to treat cancers of the lung, bone, kidney and soft tissues.
Selective Internal Radiation Therapy (SIRT)
Good Shepherd Hospital’s Radiation Oncology Department, in conjunction with the Interventional Radiology Department, offers a new non-surgical therapy that is FDA-approved and allows dramatic improvement and control over metastatic colorectal cancer of the liver. The technology employs SIR-Spheres®—biocompatible micro-polymer beads encapsulating radioactive material—to deliver radiation directly and continuously to the tumor site. The spheres are injected via a catheter placed into the artery that supplies blood to the liver, and the radiation is taken up by the diseased sites of the liver.
SIRT, a leading-edge treatment:
- Delivers up to 40 times more radiation to the tumor than conventional radiotherapy
- Can treat multiple tumors of different sizes
- Spares normal tissue and optimally treats the metastatic lesions
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