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Progressive Treatment Gives You a Better Chance for a CureLehigh Valley Hospital experts in medical oncology, radiation oncology and surgery work together to make sure you get the most effective cancer treatment.At Lehigh Valley Hospital, you know your doctors will work as a team right from the start. We use this team approach because it has been found to be the most effective way to treat cancer. Your team will work with you to develop a treatment plan based entirely on your individual situation.Cancer treatment has made great strides in relieving suffering and helping people live with cancer as well as in curing them. Your cancer team is committed to making a difference in your quality of life as well as your survival. Often doctors can minimize side effects, and new approaches that make treatment easier are continually being developed. Your team may include medical oncologists, surgical oncologists and radiation oncologists. Here's how each of them will help you. Medical OncologyYour medical oncologist has been trained to treat cancer using chemotherapy and biologic agents. Your medical oncologist is usually your primary oncologist, and you'll develop a close relationship with your doctor, the oncology nurses and the other staff.Chemotherapy uses drugs to destroy cancer cells. These drugs travel through your bloodstream, killing cancer cells throughout your body. Chemotherapy can be given orally or though a needle in a vein or muscle. Many of the side effects you are thinking about, such as nausea and hair loss, have been greatly reduced with new drugs. To make chemotherapy as comfortable as possible, we have special rooms called Infusion Suites at both our Cancer Centers. We hope you'll bring a friend or family member to keep you company during treatment. Nurses who are certified in oncology administer the drugs. They'll explain each medication and what to expect. They will be there to answer questions and support you throughout your treatment. Surgical OncologyThe surgery you need, if any, depends on what kind of cancer you have. We offer advanced surgical approaches that use minimally invasive, laparoscopic and organ-sparing procedures whenever possible. Sometimes surgery can relieve suffering and improve quality of life, even when a cure is not possible.Advanced surgical approaches include:
Radiation OncologyA radiation oncologist uses precise, intense radiation to combat cancer. Radiation therapy is often used early in your treatment to complement surgery and/or chemotherapy. At Lehigh Valley Hospital, we are able to treat cancer patients as young as three months.In recent years, radiation therapy has become safer, easier for the patient and more effective in eliminating cancer and improving people’s quality of life. It can reduce pain and prevent complications down the road. Our radiation oncologists use five linear accelerators, ranging from low-dose to the most powerful radiation dose available on the East Coast. This gives us the flexibility to tailor the most appropriate therapy to your specific needs. High energy linear accelerators can target deep-seated tumors with minimal effect on adjacent healthy tissue. 3D conformal radiation and IMRT are sophisticated methods of delivering a highly precise radiation dose. They are really useful if the tumor is near a critical organ, or if we are re-treating a part of your body that was treated before. Brachytherapy is a different type of radiation therapy. It involves placing radioactive material in direct contact with the affected tissue. We were the first in our region to offer radioactive seed implants for prostate cancer. We are also a regional referral center for brachytherapy for gynecologic, head and neck treatment. Stereotactic radiosurgery is the use of very precise beams of radiation to treat brain tumors and other conditions that would be high risk or inoperable using traditional brain surgery. We have been performing stereotactic radiosurgery for more than a decade. The Gamma Knife® is the newest technology to use this process. While the advanced equipment matters, the skill and compassion of your doctors are what really make the difference. They're the reason to consider the Cancer Center at Lehigh Valley Hospital. This page last updated 2/12/08 04:08 PM
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