How do you participate in clinical studies

We participate in national clinical trials through CTSG. If you are interested in participating in a clinical trial, please let your medical oncologist, surgeon, or radiation oncologist know. There are certain protocols available and they may benefit you. Your doctor will find out if there is any protocols that may help your situation. Then, the protocol will be explained to you in detail. You will have chance to review the protocol, benefit, and possible risk before deciding to participate

Gliasite Brachytherapy for brain tumors

Gliasite is a new way of delivering radiation to the tumor bed following resection of the brain tumor. The following description of the procedure was quoted from the Gliasite webpage

"During tumor resection surgery, the neurosurgeon positions the balloon portion of the GliaSite® catheter within the cavity created by removal of a malignant brain tumor. The injection port at the other end of the catheter is fixed on top of the skull, concealed underneath the skin. Once the patient recovers from surgery, a combination of Iotrex® (the liquid radiation source) and saline is injected into the catheter and fills the balloon. The Iotrex® dwells for 3 to 7 days, delivering the prescribed dose of radiation. At the end of this period, the isotope is withdrawn and the balloon catheter is then removed during a brief surgical procedure."

Who is involved in your care?

There are many professionals involved in your care. Please go to "Staff" link to see in detail. They include doctors who specialize in radiation treatment, medical physicists, radiation therapists, radiation oncology nurses, dosimetrists and other staff members.

What is Radiotherapy?

About 50 to 60 percent of cancer patients are treated with radiation at some time during their disease.

Radiation therapy is the careful use of high-energy radiation to treat cancer. A doctor (radiation oncologist) may use radiation to cure cancer or to relieve a cancer patient's pain.

Radiation therapy works because the radiation destroys the cancer cells' ability to reproduce. The cancer cells that receive radiation can't make more cancer cells. The body naturally gets rid of these cells.

A cancer patient may be treated with radiation alone. Prostate cancer and larynx cancer are often treated in this manner.

Sometimes radiation therapy is only part of a patient's treatment. For example, a woman may have radiation therapy after breast conserving surgery. She can be cured of her cancer and still keep her breast.

Patients can be treated with radiation therapy and/or chemotherapy before surgery. This may allow a patient to have less radical surgery than would otherwise be required. For example, some bladder cancer patients can keep their bladder if they are treated with all three treatments rather than only one treatment.

A radiation oncologist may use radiation generated by a machine outside a patient's body (external beam radiation therapy). Radiation also may be given with radioactive sources that are put inside the patient ("implants" or brachytherapy).

From ASTRO website

High PSA, What is this mean? What should you do next?

Q: My Husband's prostate exam found an elevated PSA level. Does that mean cancer? What should we do next?

A: An elevated PSA score does not necessarily mean your husband has cancer. PSA, or prostate-specific antigen, is an enzyme released by the prostate and measured with a blood test. Any time a man's prostate becomes enlarged-because of gradual enlargement caused by aging, an infection or cancer-his PSA level may rise.

To be safe, your husband's next step should be to get a referral from his physician to see a urologist. The urologist will examine the prostate and may perform a biopsy. If no cancer cells are detected, your husband should continue to have his PSA monitored regularly; another biopsy may be recommended if needed.

If prostate cancer is found, several treatment options are available, including surgery and radiation therapy which may include external beam therapy and/or radioactive seed implantation. In a seed implant, between 70 and 100 rice-sized radioactive seeds(the exact number depends on the size of the prostate) emit radiation after being injected into the prostate through ultrasound-guided needles.

New treatments offer fewer side effects than traditional surgery, including a lower risk for urinary incontinence and erectile dysfunction. Even if treatment is needed, your husband can continue to live a healthy, active life through the treatment and fterwards.

Early detection is key to treating prostate cancer successfully, so it's important for your husband to continue to get regular screenings and follow his doctor's advice

Ham-Nyung Lee, MD
Radiation Oncologist
Excerpt from Health Advocate Magazine
Fall 2003