The Sarah Cannon Cancer Center at Parkridge Medical Center offers the Xoft Axxent High Dose Rate (HDR) electronic brachytherapy (eBx) for the treatment of cancer. This technology gives cancer patients a more convenient and comfortable alternative to traditional radiation therapy, which often requires a multiple rounds of treatment while isolated in a lead-lined vault.
The Axxent HDR eBx technology has many advantages compared with conventional radiation oncology.
"With the Axxent system, the source of the radiation is X-rays and not radioactive material," said Michael Howard, director of Medical Physics for The Sarah Cannon Cancer Center at Parkridge. "The use of this relatively lower-energy radiation has the potential to minimize radiation exposure for surrounding healthy tissues during treatment."
The Axxent's use of this lower-energy x-ray technology also allows medical care providers to be in the room with a patient during treatment, an approach which can be comforting to patients.
Axxent HDR technology also features Intraoperative Radiation Therapy (IORT) capability.
"This means that patients can receive radiation therapy at the same time they undergo a surgical procedure," noted radiation oncologist Stephen Golder, MD. "The Axxent system can be brought into the operating room and treatment can be performed just after a tumor is removed. This means that it may be possible for some patients to complete their entire course of cancer therapy at one time."
Because the Axxent system does not use radioactive isotopes, there is less need for special handling and hazardous materials handling related to cancer treatments performed with the system. The Axxent system can be used to treat breast, skin and gynecologic cancers.
For more information about Xoft Axxent Radiation Therapy, call MedLine® at 800-242-5662.