Millionaire Health Advices

Posts Tagged ‘Brain Tumor’

For conventional radiation therapy, initial visit with the oncologist is called consultation. On this visit I asked the history of their illness and do a physical exam. At this point you may need consultation with other members of your treatment team.

After you and your (s) doctor (s) have decided the course of treatment, beginning the first phase of treatment planning. At this stage, a radiation oncologist, a doctor who specializes in radiation therapy “will make a simulation of radiotherapy treatment using current radiographs (X rays) or computed tomography (CT). In some cases, you may need an MRI. These radiographic studies are used to plan the type and direction of radiation beams used to treat cancer.

During the simulation, you must be lying for no move, on the treatment table, although at that time is not given radiotherapy. Usually, at this stage there will be an immobilization mask to keep your head in the same position. Treatment usually begins one or two days after the planning session.

During the actual treatment with radiation therapy will be asked to lie on the treatment table without moving. The radiation therapist will administer the treatment prescribed by radiation oncologist. The treatment lasts only minutes, and you do not feel anything. Stereotactic radiosurgery If you do, you might put a rigid in the head. This procedure uses computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to help the doctor identify the exact location of the tumor, and a computer to help regulate the radiation dose as needed. You may be taking multiple images on the treatment machine to ensure their alignment.

The treatment planning sessions and the first sessions of radiotherapy can take an hour or two, then the treatments last a few minutes and you can get from the department of radiotherapy after 30-45 minutes each session. In general, treatments are given once or twice a day, five days a week for five to seven weeks.

* The three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3D-CRT) is a conventional form of radiation therapy that uses a specific adaptation of the X-ray beams designed to conform to the shape of the tumor to maximize the tumor dose and minimize dose applied in the surrounding normal tissue. This form of treatment is customized according to the patient’s particular anatomy and the location of the tumor. Often, it requires a CT scan or MRI for treatment planning.
* Brachytherapy is the temporary location of radioactive material in the body, usually used to give an additional dose (or stimulus) of radiation in the area instead of splitting. See page Brachytherapy (www.RadiologyInfo.org/sp/info.cfm?PG=brachy) for more information. Read the rest of this entry »

Various treatments are used to treat brain tumors. The type of treatment recommended depends on the size and type of tumor, the growth rate and the overall health of the patient. Treatment options include surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, targeted biological agents or a combination thereof. Surgical resection (if not dangerous) is usually the first recommendation of treatment to reduce pressure on our brain quickly. This website focuses on radiation therapy for brain tumors.

In the past two decades, researchers have developed new techniques to deliver radiation to the brain tumor while protecting nearby healthy tissue. These treatments include brachytherapy, intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and radiosurgery. Read the rest of this entry »