External Beam Therapy

External Beam Radiation is painless treatment which uses x-ray machines to treat cancer.

These machines produce ionizing radiation, such as x-rays, gamma rays, and electron beams, which destroy cancer cells. The machines produce different types of radiation beams that can destroy tumors at different sites within the body. Dr. Maddock and/or Dr. Lane choose which instrument is best suited to treat each patient.

An entire course of treatment usually lasts from one to eight weeks depending on the type of cancer and the goal of treatment.

The treatment team carefully aims the radiation to spare - as much as possible - the normal tissues surrounding the tumor. Still, radiation may affect some healthy cells. You are treated with multiple small doses of radiation with time in between treatments so the healthy cells can repair much of the radiation damage.

• Radiation Therapy—What It Is and How It Works

Therapies & Technologies at the Maddock Center:

• Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT)
• Ultrasound-guided target localization
• MammoSite^® implants
• HDR Brachytherapy (site-delivered radiation treatment)
• Conformal Radiotherapy (3-D conformal external beam radiation therapy)
• Customized Treatment for Skin Cancer
• Instrumentation and Software