Radiation Therapy

Since its beginnings in 1932, the Swedish Cancer Institute (SCI) has maintained a long track record of innovation, development and clinical implementation of new technologies in radiation oncology. The SCI installed the first high-energy x-ray therapy machine in the western United States in the early 1930s.

Today, the SCI continues its commitment to improving patient care by leading research and clinical trials, integrating the latest technologies into the clinic setting, and educating physicians across the country on new techniques.

What Is Radiation Therapy / Radiation Oncology? 

Oncology is the area of medicine that treats cancer. Radiation oncology, or radiation therapy, involves using targeted, penetrating rays of energy (radiation) to destroy cancer cells. A radiation oncologist is a specialist trained to use radiation therapy to treat cancer.

How does Radiation Therapy work?

Radiation therapy works by  damaging the DNA in the cancer cell.  This disables the cancer cells and keeps them from reproducing and growing. The cancer cells then die and the cancer shrinks. The objective of radiation therapy is to kill enough cancer cells to maximize the probability of cure and minimize side effects.

How is Radiation Therapy used in Cancer Treatment?

Because radiation can be focused on any part of the body, more than half of all patients who have cancerous tumors are treated with some form of radiation therapy. It is often used alone or as part of a plan that includes other methods for treating cancer, such as surgery or chemotherapy. Under some circumstances, radiation therapy may also be used as palliative care.

Cancer Podcast
Listen to The Radiation Therapy Expereince

Personalized Treatment Plan & Delivery with Advanced Radiation Technologies

Delivering precise radiation to the tumor while also sparing nearby healthy tissue and organs requires the development of a detailed, personalized treatment plan. While the treatment plan helps determine the exact area where the radiation needs to be focused (the "treatment field), it also considers the patient's quality of life during and after treatment.

The latest technologies used at the SCI to develop a treatment plan and then ultimately treat cancer with radiation therapy include: 

4D CT Imaging

The SCI was an early adopter of 4D imaging that allows physicians to visualize the motion of lung tumors over a patient's breathing cycle, resulting in improved design of each patient's treatment plan.

Beam Gating

This automatic breathing-control system, acquired by Swedish in 2005, can control a patient's breathing during radiation treatment of breast cancer, leading to reduced damage to healthy tissues in the lungs and heart.

PET/CT Scanner

Radiation oncologists at Swedish were among the first in the Northwest to use a 16-slice PET/CT scanner for radiation-treatment planning. The scanner combines Computerized Tomography (CT) and Positive Emission Tomography (PET), two standard medical imaging tools. The PET/CT scanner allows the tumor to be defined more precisely by better identifying the junction between cancer and inflamed normal tissue. This, in turn, allows the radiation oncologist to more effectively plan the dose of radiation to the cancer while sparing more of the healthy tissue.

More about PET/CT Imaging

External Beam Radiation Therapy

The most common form of radiation therapy. Short, targeted bursts of radiation (x-rays) are fired at the cancerous tumor using a machine called a linear accelerator. During radiation treatment, the tumor can move because of breathing and other normal bodily movements. Previously, to compensate for the movement and make sure the entire tumor was treated, radiation oncologists had to expand the treatment area. This meant healthy tissue near the tumor was also affected during treatment. The Center for Advanced Targeted Radiation Therapy at the SCI uses these advanced, targeted external radiation therapies to more accurately pinpoint the cancer while sparing as much normal tissue as possible: 

• Image-Guided Radiation Therapy (IGRT)
• Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT)
• TomoTherapy

• Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy (VMAT)

• Calypso® 4D Localization System for Prostate Cancer

• CyberKnife® Radiosurgery

• Gamma Knife® Radiosurgery

Brachytherapy

Also known as internal radiation therapy or implant radiation therapy. Instead of using a large radiation machine, the radioactive material is sealed in a thin wire or tube (also known as seed implants) and placed directly in the affected area. "Interstitial radiation" refers to implanting a radioactive source directly into cancerous tissue. "Intracavitary radiation" places the radioactive source in a body cavity, such as the uterus. The SCI has been a leader in using and developing brachytherapy treatment options, including:

• High-Dose Rate (HDR) Brachytherapy

• Lung-Saving Brachytherapy for Lung Cancer

• Partial Breast Irradiation
       Axxent™ Electronic Brachytherapy
       Contura™ Multi-Lumen Balloon Brachytherapy
       MammoSite® Brachytherapy
       CyberKnife® (Stereotactic Radiosurgery)
• TheraSphere® for Liver Cancer
  for appointments and question please call 206-386-2201

Appointments & Referrals

Radiation therapy services are available on Swedish's First Hill campus as well as through the SCI's partnerships with other hospitals in the region.

Radiation Therapy Locations & Contacts