Treating Brain Tumors Using Stereotactic Radiation Therapy and Radiosurgery
Malignant and benign brain tumors are often treated with radiation therapy, stereotactic radiation therapy or stereotactic radiosurgery. All three types use x-rays or gamma rays. Physicians position stereotactic radiation therapy patients for every treatment using CT images. Thompson was the first facility in the area to use this method over traditional radiation therapy. Before this time, patients were positioned using x-rays and skin marks. Now, with stereotactic radiation therapy, daily CT scans let physicians position patients based on the internal anatomy. This breakthrough means that the radiation can be better targeted to the tumor, and spare normal surrounding tissue. Patients who undergo stereotactic radiation therapy treatments usually receive five treatments per week over the course of several weeks. Thompson was also the first facility in the region to offer stereotactic radiosurgery. Even though the treatment is called radiosurgery, it requires no knives or scalpels. Instead, patients receive one to five 30-minute treatments of a precisely targeted, very high dose of radiation. Unlike older radiosurgery systems, Thompson's Intensity Modulated, Image Guided TomoTherapy system has an on-board CT scanner and does not require patients have a head frame attached to their skull.		Computer Generated Treatment Field

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