Radiation therapy

Deep inspiration breath-holding technique

This technique is designed to minimize how much radiation your heart gets. During treatment, you'll take a deep breath in, allowing your lungs to fill with air and moving your heart away from your chest. This technique is commonly used in conditions like left-sided breast cancer, lymphoma or tumors in your chest and upper abdomen.

External beam radiation therapy

The most common type of radiation therapy used for cancer treatment, external beam therapy is usually performed during outpatient visits at a hospital or treatment center. During this treatment, a machine aims high-energy rays from outside your body into the tumor. External radiation therapy my span the course of many weeks.

High-dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy

This internal radiotherapy is often used to treat gynecological, head and neck, prostate and skin cancer. The procedure involves the insertion of thin tubes into or near the tumor. Once inside, a source of radiation is passed through the tubes to destroy cancer cells. We remove the source of radiation after treatment.

Image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT)

This form of external radiation treatment allows your radiation oncologist to adjust your position or the radiation as needed. By doing so, we ensure the beams are focused on your tumor and that exposure to your healthy tissue is limited.

Intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT)

IMRT allows stronger beams of radiation to get to certain areas of your tumor while decreasing damage to nearby healthy tissue. This is done using advanced computer programs that calculate and deliver the radiation to cancer cells at various angles.

Intraoperative radiation therapy

This treatment involves delivering a type of radiation directly to your tumor. It's typically used if your tumor can't be removed completely or if it poses the risk of returning. During this procedure, our surgeons move your healthy, normal tissue away from your tumor and use special shields to protect your healthy tissue.

Respiratory gating

Tumors sometimes move during radiation therapy. The likelihood of this happening becomes more likely if the tumor is in an area of your body that moves as you breathe in and out. Respiratory gating is a process that uses advanced software to guide radiation delivery as you breathe. By working with the movement of your body, this technique minimizes the dose of radiation sent to your healthy tissue and maximizes the dose applied to the tumor.

Stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT)

Commonly used to treat smaller tumors, your doctor might decide to use SBRT if your cancer has spread. Many prostate cancer, lung cancer and kidney cancer cases are treated with this method.

Stereotactic radiosurgery

During this procedure, a large amount of radiation is given to a small area of your tumor in a single session. This technique is commonly used for brain tumors and other types of tumors inside your head. While this technically isn't surgery, it's referenced as such because it's so exact in where the radiation is delivered — similar to the precise nature of surgery.

About HCA Healthcare Sarah Cannon Cancer Network

Fighting cancer takes a team

HCA Healthcare Sarah Cannon Cancer Network delivers you exceptional cancer care through cutting-edge, specialized treatments, multidisciplinary collaboration and care that is tailored to you. Our teams of passionate caregivers and global oncology experts across the United States and United Kingdom offer services and expertise that extend across many types of cancer. Together with the full support of HCA Healthcare – a leading provider of cancer care and research – we’re with you and your family from diagnosis through survivorship.

askSARAH helpline

Have cancer questions? We can help. askSARAH is a dedicated helpline for your cancer-related questions. Our specially trained nurses are available 24/7, and all calls are confidential. Contact askSARAH at (303) 253-3225.