Radiation Therapy Treatment Options

Radiation therapy at Lehigh Valley Topper Cancer Institute

At the Cancer Institute, you receive care from doctors (radiation oncologists) who specialize in using radiation therapy techniques to treat cancer. Our team also includes radiation therapists, specially trained nurses and other clinical experts who work together to help you receive safe, accurate care. Find out more about radiation therapy.

We are the only cancer center in the region participating in the Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK) Cancer Alliance. Our participation in clinical trials through the Alliance means you may be eligible to receive new forms of radiation therapy years before they are widely available. Read more about our membership in the MSK Cancer Alliance.

Types of radiation therapy we offer

Our offerings help you receive the treatments that meet your medical needs while helping you live a good quality of life. Your care may include:

Stereotactic radiosurgery

We use Gamma Knife® Icon™ technology to deliver large doses of radiation with a high degree of accuracy. With Gamma Knife Icon, you may only need one treatment – as opposed to daily treatments over a period of weeks – so you can get back to your daily routine faster.

We offer Varian Edge® radiosurgery system for stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) at Dale and Frances Hughes Cancer Center at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Pocono and Cancer Center at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest. The Edge system delivers a high dose of radiation, allowing you to complete treatment in fewer, shorter visits.

IMRT

We use the latest technologies, including Varian RapidArc®. Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) with RapidArc reduces the amount of time you need to hold still during treatment for a more comfortable experience.

Brachytherapy

We implant tiny seeds containing a radioactive substance into the cancer cells. We often use brachytherapy for cancer in sensitive areas, such as a man’s prostate or a woman’s cervix. Brachytherapy helps you feel more like your old self after treatment by limiting radiation exposure near healthy tissue.

IGRT

Image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT) uses real-time, X-ray imaging to pinpoint the cancer tissue during radiation therapy. With IGRT, we re-focus the radiation beams as necessary to confirm exactly where the tumor is in the body before and during treatment, such as those that occur in the lungs during breathing.

SIRT

Selective internal radiation therapy (SIRT) is a treatment approach for metastatic colorectal cancer and primary liver cancer. Y-90 resin microspheres are tiny radioactive “beads” used in SIRT, sometimes referred to as Y-90 radioembolization. SIRT treats stage IV colon cancer that has spread to the liver and can't be surgically removed.

Calypso®4D localization

Calypso behaves like GPS to pinpoint radiation beam accuracy during treatment, accounting for internal movement like breathing and digestion.

Respiratory gating 

Respiratory gating is the process of turning the radiation beam on and off based on when you take a breath. It can be used to treat lung, liver, stomach and pancreatic cancers. Using respiratory gating, your radiation treatment is synchronized to your individual breathing pattern, targeting the tumor only when it is in the optimum range.

Optical surface monitoring system (OSMS)

This is real-time motion management technology. It allows for motion tracking throughout the treatment delivery. It continuously updates the tracking display to show motion in all six degrees of freedom and is viewed throughout the treatment. This technology is used on stereotactic body radiosurgery (SBRT) and stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) cases. These are treatments where a high dose is delivered to a small area and positioning is critical. The technology can also be used to treat breast, head and neck or any variety of case where real-time motion management is beneficial.