Cancer Treatments and Therapy

Radiation Oncology Centers of Ventura County is a cancer treatment center that specializes in radiation therapy. Drs. Timothy O’Connor and Henry Montes are experts in the field who help people understand the types of radiation therapy available to treat each patient’s type of cancer.

• Radiation Therapy damages tumor cells’ ability to multiply. The body naturally eliminates the dead cells. The healthy cells may be affected by the radiation but are able to repair themselves. At Radiation Oncology Centers, we treat patients with several kinds of radiation therapy, as outlined below.
  » Learn more about Radiation Therapy.
  
  
• Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) is considered to be the most significant technological breakthrough in radiation treatment in the last 30 years. IMRT is a painless, non-surgical treatment that precisely targets cancer cells while minimizing side effects. IMRT differs from 3D-CRT by varying the intensity of the radiation within each of the radiation beams.
  » Learn more about Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT )
  
  
• 3-dimensional Conformal Radiotherapy or 3D-CRT delivers precise doses of radiation to the brain by combining multiple radiation treatment fields. Tailoring each of the radiation beams to the patient's tumor directs the radiation to the brain tumor while keeping radiation away from nearby organs, such as the eyes.
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• Prostate Brachytherapy is the implanting of radioactive seeds (each about the size of a grain of rice) into cancerous tissue through hollow needles. They may be permanent or temporary. Because they are so small, they cause little discomfort and are simply left in place after their radioactive material is used up.
  » Learn more about Brachytherapy (seed implanting)
  
  
• High Dose Rate (HDR) Brachytherapy
  Similar to permanent seed implantation, this treatment is the temporary loading of radioactive seeds into the body through a catheter or balloon. A portion of the catheter remains outside of the body and is connected to a computer-controlled High Dose Rate (HDR) machine that delivers the “seeds.” No radiation remains inside the body between treatments. Treatment is done on an outpatient basis and side effects are generally mild.
  » High Dose Rate (HDR) Brachytherapy
  
  
• Breast High Dose Rate (HDR) Brachytherapy – Mammosite® and Contura®
  This tissue-conserving treatment is similar to permanent seed implantation, only it is the temporary loading of radioactive seeds into the breast cavity following surgical removal of a cancerous mass. Following removal of the cancerous tissue, plastic tubes called catheters or a balloon are inserted into the affected area and filled with saline solution. A portion of the catheter remains outside the body, and is connected to a computer-controlled High Dose Rate (HDR) machine that delivers the “seeds” twice a day for 5 days.
  » Breast High Dose Rate (HDR) Brachytherapy
  
  
• Image-Guided Radiation Therapy (IGRT)
  Image-Guided Radiation Therapy (IGRT) uses high-resolution, three-dimensional images to pinpoint tumor sites, adjust patient positioning for maximum accuracy and deliver radiation therapy. These capabilities take IMRT and stereotactic IMRT technologies one step further with advanced imaging for greater precision and efficiency.
  » Image-Guided Radiation Therapy (IGRT)