Redhawk Radiation Therapy Center – Vantage Oncology to Offer Patients New RapidArc™ Radiotherapy Technology to “Zap” Cancer Faster and More Accurately - Redhawk Radiation Therapy Center is one of the First in Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego Counties to Provide Local Patients Access to Highly-Advanced Technology
TEMECULA, Calif. (February 11, 2011) – Vantage Oncology announced today that it will be one of the first centers in Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego Counties to offer residents access to one of the most advanced treatment options available in radiation oncology – RapidArc™ Radiotherapy. With the advent of this sophisticated technology, the fight against cancer has risen to a new level with its innovative capabilities and precise delivery of radiation to tumor sites. The first patient will be treated with this exciting new technology by March of 2011.
RapidArc™ Radiotherapy delivers treatments that are two to eight times faster than conventional Intensity-Modulated Radiotherapy (IMRT). This is accomplished through a novel system delivering highly conformal radiotherapy continuously as the radiation delivery system rotates 180 degrees around the patient. In most cases, treatments are delivered in less than two minutes. RapidArc differs from existing technologies like helical IMRT and Intensity-Modulated Arc Therapy (IMAT) because it delivers dose to the entire tumor continuously, rather than in an interrupted fashion slice by slice. The precision of RapidArc enables doctors to target and treat tumors more accurately and efficiently, allowing higher radiation doses to the tumor and less radiation exposure to surrounding healthy tissue. By dramatically reducing the amount of time patients spend on the treatment table, this technology also improves patient comfort and decreases the chance of patient movement lessening the accuracy of the beam.
“We are excited to offer RapidArc to our served communities,” explained Dr. Tara Washington, medical director of Redhawk Radiation Therapy Center – Vantage Oncology. “As a result of this new technology, we can offer eligible patients greater options which allow the completion of highly-accurate radiotherapy in a much shorter time.”
RapidArc radiotherapy delivers image-guided IMRT in a single rotation of the treatment machine around the patient. During the treatment, the radiation beam is shaped and reshaped as it is continuously delivered from virtually every angle in a 360-degree revolution around the patient.
The shaping of the radiation beam is accomplished by the multi-leaf collimator (MLC), which is a device located in the head of the radiation treatment machine (linear accelerator), consisting of 120 computer-controlled mechanical “leaves” or “fingers” that move organically to create apertures of different shapes and sizes. Sophisticated treatment plans, generated by computer on the basis of each patient’s unique anatomy and tumor size, shape, and position within the body, guide the treatments.
“We expect the side effects from RapidArc to be significantly reduced compared to conventional radiation therapy,” said Dr. Brian Ronson, radiation oncologist at Redhawk Radiation Therapy Center. “The risk of long-term complications from treatment should also be lower.”
For more information about Redhawk Radiation Therapy Center – Vantage Oncology or to schedule an appointment, please call (951) 252-9300 or log on to www.RedhawkRadiationOncology.com.
ABOUT VANTAGE ONCOLOGY, INC.
Founded in October 2002, Manhattan Beach, California-based Vantage Oncology, Inc. acquires, joint ventures, develops and operates state-of-the-art radiation oncology centers. Vantage Oncology was created in response to the growing need among cancer patients, hospitals and physicians for accessible and advanced radiation treatment therapies. Vantage Oncology is led by a seasoned management team, including Chief Executive Officer Michael Fiore, Medical Director Leslie Botnick, M.D., Chief Financial Officer Marshal Salomon and Chief Development Officer Mark Ahern.
Contact:
Trace Longo
Longo Communications
Tel: (949) 364-2821
trace.longo@sbcglobal.net
Jo Anne Ghazi
Redhawk Radiation Therapy Center
Tel: (951) 623-6254
jghazi@vantageoncology.com |
