Since the installation of our Varian TrueBeam Linear Accelerator in May 2012, Cape Regional Health System's radiation oncology department has developed a new treatment program for certain lung cancer patients. It is called stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT). This very accurate radiation technique delivers curative radiation doses to small areas with very high precision to destroy lung cancer cells at the target.
A Fast and Accurate Lung Cancer Treatment
SBRT is delivered every other day for 3 or 5 treatments. It takes only 15 to 20 minutes per treatment, whereas cyberknife can take 60 to 90 minutes to deliver per day.
Cape Regional's oncology team has treated many lung cancer patients with SBRT and has seen very high success rates in controlling lung cancers with this radiation technique.
Will SBRT Work for Me?
SBRT is not for all lung cancer patients, but for those caught early enough with CT scans of the lungs, we are able to cure lung cancer without surgery by using this precise, high-dose SBRT treatment method.