State-of-the-Art Treatments

If you are diagnosed with cancer, the Cancer Institute’s experienced team of professionals works with you and your loved ones to review treatment options and develop a course of action that combines the most effective treatment with your personal preferences.

Surgery

Surgery continues to be one of the most common treatments to remove cancerous tumors, surrounding tissue and lymph nodes. St. John’s Cancer Institute works with general surgeons, as well as specialists in all areas. Surgery is often used in combination with chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy.

St. John’s offers “robotic-assisted” surgery for removal of diseased prostates. This minimally invasive surgery leads to better patient outcomes, less pain and fewer complications.

Whether your surgery is performed on an outpatient basis or requires an inpatient hospital stay, St. John’s is committed to making your experience as comfortable as possible. A child life specialist helps children undergoing surgery feel more relaxed and comfortable in the unfamiliar environment.

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy uses powerful drugs to kill cancer cells wherever they may be — in body organs, the blood or lymph glands. It may be used alone or in combination with surgery and/or radiation therapy.

Under the direction of a hematologist/oncologist, chemotherapy is delivered through an IV, in pill form or through injections. Patients may be admitted to the hospital for chemotherapy, but in most cases, it is given on an outpatient basis.

Radiation Therapy

Radiation Therapy uses precisely targeted high-energy X-rays to destroy cancer cells. It is a very effective treatment for many cancers and is most commonly used to treat cancers of the lung, breast, brain, prostate and uterus. Radiation Therapy may be the only form of treatment required or it may be combined with surgery and/or chemotherapy.

Radiation therapy is performed under the direction of a Radiation Oncologist. It is most often delivered externally as a patient lies on a table while special equipment is used to deliver X-rays to a specific body part. Treatments last 10-20 minutes and are typically performed on an outpatient basis five days a week for two to eight weeks.

St. John’s offers many advanced form of radiation therapy:

Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy or IMRT
IMRT delivers radiation in an extraordinarily precise way to shape the dose of radiation directly to the cancerous area while avoiding nearby critical organs. IMRT allows our physicians to precisely deliver radiation to a tumor site while minimize damage to nearby organs and reduce side effects.  IMRT is used to treat many types of cancers, but most often cancers of the prostate, central nervous system, head and neck area, and some breast cancers.

Image Guided Radiotherapy or IGRT

IGRT, also known as “image guidance” is used in conjunction with the radiation delivery to increase the precision of the radiation delivery.  Currently used for prostate cancer, IGRT uses an ultrasound probe placed on top of the abdomen to image the precise location of the prostate just before the radiation is delivered.  Painless and requiring only an additional 2-3 minutes, IGRT allows for extreme accuracy of less than 1 millimeter when using with IMRT for prostate cancer.

Coming fall of 2007!
In the fall of 2007, The Cancer Institute at St. John’s Hospital will complete a multi-million dollar expansion of technology.  This renovation features the latest in imaging and delivery of radiation therapy with IGRT capabilities for cancers throughout the body.  Check back often for updates on our exciting progress!

Brachytherapy

Low Dose Rate Brachytherapy is a form of Radiation Therapy delivered internally through small radioactive “seeds” permanently implanted into the affected body part.  The seed implants are proving effective in treating prostate and lung cancer. 

High Dose Rate Brachytherapy (HDR) is also delivered internally; however the radioactive source is inserted for several minutes, and then removed.  HDR is most commonly used to treat cancers of the cervix and early stage breast cancer using the MammoSite (tm) catheter.  The Cancer Institute is proud to offer the latest in 3D treatment planning for Brachytherapy.  This planning technology, available since the spring of 2007, allows the physicians and staff to precisely plan the Brachytherapy radiation dose to the cancer while minimizing the dose to the normal structures.  In addition 3D treatment planning significantly reduces the procedure time.

Stereotactic Radiosurgery (SRS)

Is a type of radiation that delivers an “invisible blade” of precisely targeted radiation to deep-seated brain tumors or other brain abnormalities, while avoiding critical areas of the brain.

Interventional Radiology

Specialists called interventional radiologists use new minimally invasive procedures to destroy certain types of tumors and help control pain. One procedure called radiofrequency ablation delivers high-intensity heat directly to a tumor. A procedure called chemoembolization delivers chemotherapy drugs directly to a tumor. Patients with inoperable liver tumors or other types of cancer that have spread to the liver are excellent candidates for this type of procedure. Another procedure delivers high doses of chemotherapy to head and neck tumors so organs such as the voice box and tongue don’t need to be removed.