| HeraldNet - Snohomish County's online news source |
 SATURDAY, MARCH 13, 2010 11:11 am |
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Local News 
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Cancer-fighting technology at Providence The Providence Regional Cancer Partnership has $10.8 million of technology to treat cancer. Here are some of the main features.PET/CT machine Positron Emission Tomography is used to detect cancer, determine its size and where it is, and judge how a patient is responding to treatment. Cancer will appear brighter than normal tissue on the PET images. "It's almost like 'X marks the spot' to show where the tumor is and where the cancer may have spread" said Dr. Will Wisbeck, medical director of radiation oncology. "If the PET scan shows a hot spot, you'd know there was a cancer there." Linear accelerators or radiation machines These machines have enhanced technology precisely guiding radiation, Wisbeck said. Used to treat a variety of cancers, it is the most commonly used device for external radiation treatments for cancer patients. It delivers high-energy X-rays to the region of the patient's tumor. These X-rays can destroy cancer cells. TomoTherapy Costing $3.25 million, it is the single most expensive machine in the cancer center. It combines CT imaging and radiation treatment technologies in one machine. The machine is so specialized that it will only be used on 20 percent to 25 percent of cancer patients, mostly prostate cancer and cancers in the head and neck, Wisbeck said. The machine allows doctors to take a CT scan just before each treatment, because cancers can shrink during treatment. A three-dimensional alignment is made to precisely direct the radiation. Tomotherapy is a "monumental leap forward in both the targeting and delivery of radiation," Wisbeck said. Brachytherapy Radioactive seed-sized implants typically are placed directly inside the body inside or near a tumor. Often used to treat prostate, cervical and endometrial cancers. They typically remain in the body because their cancer-treating qualities are only active over a few months. In some cases, with high dose radiation, they remain in place only for a few minutes, and then are taken out again, Wisbeck said. |
- Alcohol, marijuana cited in fatal wrong-way crash
- Told there's no buyer for pea crop, farmers adjust
- Bill passes making cell phones, texting while driving primary offense
- Suspect in boy’s death on the run
- Everett courts water-bottling company
- Lundeen Parkway in Lakes Stevens to close
- Wanted: Downtown Everett renters
- Breaking news: Child murder suspect Fryberg in custody
- State restricts BPA, including in baby bottles
- Charges filed against former Snohomish County planning director
- Bill passes making cell phones, texting while driving primary offense
(51) - Alcohol, marijuana cited in fatal wrong-way crash (35)
- Everett courts water-bottling company (34)
- Wanted: Downtown Everett renters (16)
- Cut through solid-white lines and it could cost you $411 (11)
- Suspect in boy’s death on the run (11)
- Breaking news: Child murder suspect Fryberg in custody (9)
- Air Force tanker decision favoring Boeing isn’t free trade, British and French say (8)
- Murder suspect James Fryberg back in custody (8)
- Told there's no buyer for pea crop, farmers adjust (8)
- Yelm ousts Lynnwood girls, 54-51
- Meadowdale boys take aim at fifth place
- Archbishop Murphy girls keep vow to win
- Meadowdale boys refuse to fold, but rally falls short in 3A state opener
- Prairie’s zone defense stymies Lynnwood at Class 3A state girls basketball tournament
- Ellensburg takes it to Archbishop Murphy girls at 2A tourney
- Beyond the ‘Woodstock Generation'
- Magical run for Jackson
- Boeing to Offer NewGen Tanker to US Air Force
- New CEO at Valley General Hospital
- Dan Koffman's ‘TopSpin' marketing astounds, inspires, motivates, produces — just for starters
- Economic forecasts for Snohomish County, Everett, Marysville offer some bright moments
- Government officials influencing home prices
- Massive EPA energy regulations meet challenge
- Washington state healthcare reforms also needed
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