Targeted Therapy for Individualized Cancer Treatment
Radiation oncology is often an effective treatment option for many patients with cancer. This specialized treatment uses high doses of radiation to destroy cancer cells and slow their growth. Radiation therapy works by destroying the cancer cells’ ability to reproduce, leaving them unable to divide and grow. Radiation therapy can be used alone or in combination with other treatments to effectively treat cancer — to shrink a tumor so it can be surgically removed, to treat an area after surgery to prevent recurrence, or to provide relief from pain and other cancer symptoms. Radiation therapy may be administered from an external machine or by placing radioactive material inside the body near the cancer cells. Typically, you receive multiple treatments over days or weeks.
At St. Joseph’s Health, our highly-skilled radiation oncology team uses advanced technology to deliver precise doses of radiation with pinpoint accuracy to treat tumors, minimizing radiation exposure to surrounding healthy tissue. In partnership with Hackensack Meridian Health’s John Theurer Cancer Center, patients have access to the most sophisticated radiation therapy techniques available, as well as novel therapeutics and clinical trials.
We understand that every patient and every cancer is unique. We carefully customize a treatment plan to best address your type and stage of cancer. You may receive radiation treatment by itself or in combination with chemotherapy, surgery, and/or hormone treatment. Our radiation oncologists work closely with your other cancer doctors, including medical oncologists and surgeons, to deliver the best possible care.
Advanced Treatment Options
We offer the latest advances in radiation oncology, including innovative tissue-sparing therapies such as:
- Brachytherapy or high dose radiation (HDR): A radiation source is placed inside the body, next to or within a tumor, by using radioactive implants, such as metal pellets or seed. This allows the doctor to give high dose of radiation to more specific areas of the body, helping to preserve your healthy tissue.
- Image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT): This combines traditional radiation treatment with a simultaneous CT scan, allowing the tumor to be located and visualized within seconds prior to every treatment.
- Surface-guided radiation therapy (SGRT): Used for nearly every cancer type, this is a rapidly growing technology used to improve accuracy with radiation treatment.
- Intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT): This is an advanced type of radiation therapy that uses 3D technology to destroy tumors. IMRT delivers a high dose of radiation to the affected region of the body.
- Stereotactic radiotherapy/radiosurgery (SBRT-SRS): A non-invasive technique to treating tumors with a single, high-dose, highly accurate radiation beam to the tumor to shrink or destroy it, while minimizing damage to healthy tissue.
- Barrigel®: Designed to improve quality of life, this is a new injectable material that separates the prostate from the rectum to protect healthy tissue during radiation therapy treatment for prostate cancer.
Contact Us
St. Joseph’s University Medical Center Radiation Oncology
703 Main Street
Paterson, New Jersey 07503
973-754-2941
