TrueBeam Radiation Therapy System Blends Precise Cancer Treatment with Patient Comfort

Most likely, you know someone who has gone through cancer treatment. And oftentimes, treatment includes radiation oncology (aka radiation therapy). This uses beams of high-energy X-rays or radiation implants to eliminate tumors. Thankfully, advances in radiation therapy make the lifesaving treatment quicker, safer, more comfortable and more precise.

If you live in Central Massachusetts, you’re lucky to have these advances right in your own backyard.

TrueBeam radiation therapy, a sophisticated system, offers these advances and more. This technology enables a radically different approach to treating cancer. Should you or a loved one need radiation therapy, talk to your provider about TrueBeam and its benefits:

• Precise targeting. Tumors are precisely targeted using advanced imaging and computer technology. Believe it or not, tumors can move when you breathe. The radiation beam can still focus in on the tumor that is moving even just a little.
• Fewer side effects and less damage of surrounding tissues/organs. TrueBeam alters the shape and intensity of the beam to match even the most irregular tumor shapes by using intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT). IMRT shapes radiation beams to closely approximate the shape of the tumor. This highly accurate treatment ensures that the optimal dose of radiation targets the tumor while sparing healthy surrounding tissue, resulting in fewer side effects.
• Less treatment time. The length of treatment is shortened because a greater dose can be administered more efficiently. Patients are more comfortable.
• Surgery without a scalpel. The TrueBeam system also performs stereotactic radiosurgery. This is “surgery” without the use of a scalpel. Often used to destroy tumors in the brain or lungs, radiosurgery uses a high dose of radiation that destroys tumor cells without damaging nearby healthy tissue. With radiosurgery, effective tumor destruction can be completed in as little as one session.
• Cures cancer. In some cases, it’s used to treat primary tumors to cure cancer, and in others, it’s used as a pain management tool.

For more information on radiation oncology, visit our website. Appointments: Call 1-855-UMASS-MD (855-862-7763).