Recent media stories have storied remote cases of cancer patients who were injured by mistaken doses from intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT).
In spite of such reports, IMRT leftovers one the most influential cancer treatments, and widespread of safety measures can make sure patients receive the proper doses, said radiation oncologist of Loyola University Health System.
IMRT uses computer-controlled linear accelerators to bring exact radiation doses to a tumor or regions within a tumor. It centers high doses within the tumor whereas minimizing the dose to surrounding normal tissue.
Oncologist said these are surrounded by the measures a hospital can take to prevent the type of radiation wounds that were the subject of a current New York Times series on radiation injuries:
In spite of such reports, IMRT leftovers one the most influential cancer treatments, and widespread of safety measures can make sure patients receive the proper doses, said radiation oncologist of Loyola University Health System.
IMRT uses computer-controlled linear accelerators to bring exact radiation doses to a tumor or regions within a tumor. It centers high doses within the tumor whereas minimizing the dose to surrounding normal tissue.
Oncologist said these are surrounded by the measures a hospital can take to prevent the type of radiation wounds that were the subject of a current New York Times series on radiation injuries:
- A group of physicians, therapists and physicists does numerous levels of checking before treating a patient. For example, the team does a experiment run on a "phantom patient" with radiation detectors. This guarantees the machine is delivering the proper dose of radiation.
- Authorization by the American College of Radiology reviews the qualifications of personnel, policies and actions, equipment specifications, quality assurance activities, patient safety and superiority of patient care.
- State assessments make sure the hospital meets state regulations on radiation use.
- A complete quality assurance program includes tests on equipment and software on a daily, weekly, monthly and annual basis.
- Treatment plans are formed by board-certified dosimetrists and evaluated by physicians, physicists and therapists before and during the course of treatment. (A dosimetrist is a chief member of the radiation oncology team who dedicate to the use of computers for radiation treatment planning.) Weekly physics checks are executed to ensure the treatment plan is being implemented as planned, and all patient charts are reviewed.
Radiation therapy can make well certain head and neck cancers, cervical cancer, lymphomas, anal cancer and cancer of the vocal cords, therefore avoiding surgery.
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