After a cancer diagnosis is confirmed by your doctor, together you will determine the best course of treatment. St. John physicians offer chemotherapy, radiation oncology, and surgical specialties to treat our cancer patients.
CyberKnife™
CyberKnife™ is a revolutionary advancement in non-invasive cancer treatment technology. CyberKnife is a robotic stereotactic radiosurgery system that directs focused radiation to benign or malignant tumors.
Learn more about
CyberKnife.
Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT)
IMRT involves changing the size, shape, and intensity of the radiation beam to conform to the size, shape, and location of the patient’s tumor. The LaFortune Cancer Center's
TomoTherapy® system and two linear accelerators utilize this equipment.
TomoTherapy®
TomoTherapy® is a treatment system that delivers radiation therapy in continuous helical rotations around the patient’s body. By enabling precise intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), the system allows clinicians to change the size, shape, and intensity of the radiation beam to conform to the size, shape, and location of the patient’s tumor, helping reduce radiation exposure to surrounding healthy tissue and critical structures. TomoTherapy technology allows the radiotherapy staff to obtain CT images of soft tissues and tumors immediately prior to treatment and make any necessary adjustments, ensuring greater accuracy for high-precision procedures.
Learn more about
TomoTherapy.
Linear Accelerator
LaFortune Cancer Center offers external beam radiation treatments for certain cancer patients with two linear accelerator machines. A linear accelerator delivers a uniform dose of high-energy X-ray to a tumor, destroying cancer cells while sparing surrounding normal tissue.
MammoSite Radiation Therapy System
The MammoSite Radiation Therapy System (RTS) ™ delivers radiation directly to tissue where cancer is most likely to recur. Radiation therapy is targeted, and therefore protects healthy tissue and minimizes side effects. MammoSite Radiation Therapy can be completed in fewer days than other radiation treatments.
Learn more about the
MammoSite Radiation Therapy System.
Contura®
Contura® is a breast brachytherapy device, used after a lumpectomy for some patients with early-stage breast cancer. Learn more about
Contura.
Brachytherapy
The LaFortune Cancer Center offers high dose rate (HDR) and low dose rate (LDR) brachytherapy.
- HDR Brachytherapy is an effective treatment for many gynecologic cancers.
- LDR brachytherapy is a prostate cancer treatment involving the implantation of radioactive seeds. The treatment is extremely effective and has a lower risk of severe side effects, such as impotence and incontinence, than other treatments.
For more information about prostate cancer, research and treatments, please visit the
American Cancer Society website,
Us TOO International, and the
American Urological Association Foundation.
Chemotherapy
LaFortune Cancer Center provides medical oncology services on an inpatient and outpatient basis.
For more information, or for a physician referral, please call the
PulseLine at 744-0123.
