Cutting-edge technology and experienced, compassionate care are hallmarks of Cornwall Radiation Oncology Services. An affiliate of
St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital, CROS offers advanced TomoTherapy Radiation therapy — the first in Orange, Ulster and Sullivan
Counties — which precisely pinpoints and treats cancer. This remarkable therapy delivers more than 10,000 highly targeted radiation beams that conform to cancerous tumors, avoiding critical organs and minimizing damage to healthy tissues. Cancer can’t hide from TomoTherapy and the exceptional team at CROS.
Located in the beautiful new Littman Cancer Center on the grounds of SLCH’s Cornwall campus, CROS is staffed by physicians and other clinicians dedicated to fighting cancer and promoting overall health and well-being. They work in concert with a multi-disciplinary team, including the patient’s own physician, to devise a customized and coordinated treatment plan, and are with patients, family and caregivers every step of the journey.
Benefits of TomoTherapy:
Unparalleled precision and accuracy
Less damage to healthy tissue
Shorter recovery times – quicker return to normal routine
Multi-disciplinary team approach to fighting cancer
Soothing, patient-focused environment
The Process
Before beginning a patient’s TomoTherapy radiation treatments, the team at Cornwall Radiation Oncology Services gathers and interprets images from a combination of scanning sources to identify the shape, contour and location of the tumor and surrounding organs or tissues. The radiation oncologist then determines how much radiation the tumor should receive, as well as acceptable levels for surrounding healthy tissue. The TomoTherapy Hi-Art treatment system calculates the appropriate pattern, position and intensity of the radiation beamlets to be delivered based on the doctor’s prescribed dose.
Although dosage will vary depending on the type and location of the tumor, TomoTherapy treatment typically involves a daily application of radiation for several weeks. On average, 15 minutes is all that is needed — from the time the patient enters the treatment room to the time he or she leaves. This includes any pre-scans and location markers.
How it Works
Having a TomoTherapy treatment is very similar to having a CT scan or X-ray. Upon arriving at the Center, the patient is taken to the TomoTherapy treatment room, where a radiation therapist helps the patient onto a platform on the Hi-Art system known as the couch.
The couch moves through the machine once to activate the CTrue imaging, which enables the radiation therapist to fine-tune the patient’s position by making small couch adjustments. The couch moves through a second time, more slowly, as the system delivers the daily treatment.
The end results — targeted radiation beams from which cancer can’t hide, fewer side effects and no damage to surrounding tissue. But perhaps the best benefit of this highly specialized therapy is that it’s available right here in our community, so those undergoing treatment can save their energy to fight the cancer — not
the traffic.
For more information on Cornwall Radiation Oncology Services,
call (845) 458-9000.
