At Advanced Radiation Centers of New York, we harness sophisticated technologies to treat lung cancer effectively, focusing on precision and minimizing side effects. Our commitment to innovation includes:

• Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT): Often referred to as “Cyberknife” or “Ultra-Hypofractionated Radiotherapy”, ARC uses SBRT for treating early-stage solitary lung tumors.  This highly effective treatment, SBRT delivers concentrated doses of radiation with extreme accuracy, offering a potential non-surgical treatment option that can achieve remarkable outcomes.
• Image-Guided Volumetric Modulated Arc Radiation Therapy (IG-VMAT):  Marrying both a sub-millimeter accuracy in targeting technology (IGRT) and with sophisticated inverse-planning radiation delivery (VMAT), IG-VMAT creates a rotationally directed and always-modulating photon beam to create a “super-IMRT” that improves sparing of normal tissues and takes only minutes per treatment.  Often known as “RapidArc.”
• Respiratory Management/4-Dimensional Scanning: Recognizing that lung tumors can move with each breath, ARC utilizes advanced respiratory gating techniques. This approach ensures radiation is precisely timed with the patient’s breathing cycle, significantly reducing radiation exposure to healthy tissues.
• Respiratory Gating: Leveraging real-time tumor tracking technologies, we ensure that radiation delivery is dynamically adjusted to the tumor’s position, enhancing the treatment’s accuracy and effectiveness.

Early lung cancer often presents with no symptoms, making regular screenings important for high-risk individuals. When symptoms appear, they may include persistent coughing, changes in breathing, coughing up blood, unexplained weight loss, and fatigue. Anomalies detected in routine or diagnostic imaging often prompt further investigation.

Following a lung cancer diagnosis, detailed imaging studies including a CT scan and PET scan may be ordered to better assess the extent of disease. Often, a biopsy is performed to confirm a diagnosis.

Once the patient’s disease extent/stage are known, a consensus strategy can be created with a team that usually includes your radiation oncologist, thoracic surgeon, pulmonologist, and medical oncologist, helping to guides the choice between surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, or a combination of these treatments, tailored to each patient’s specific situation.

Radiation therapy plays a vital role in treating lung cancer. Radiation can be given, often along with chemotherapy, for locally advanced cancers either as the sole modality of treatment, or in preparation for a subsequent surgery. Radiation is also used after surgical resection to “mop-up” any stray/microscopic cells if a risk of such exists. Utilizing advanced technologies like IMRT (Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy) and IGRT (Image-Guided Radiation Therapy), our goal is to target cancer cells precisely while sparing surrounding healthy tissues.

Potential side effects of radiation therapy for lung cancer include fatigue, skin changes, and effects on lung function, but these vary widely among patients. Our physician and nursing staff are dedicated to managing and minimizing these side effects, ensuring patient comfort and quality of life during and after treatment.

The primary risk factor for lung cancer is tobacco use, though exposure to radon gas, asbestos, air pollution, and genetic factors also contribute to the risk. Quitting smoking significantly reduces the risk of developing lung cancer, highlighting the importance of prevention and early detection.

Diagnosis involves a combination of imaging tests, such as chest X-rays and CT scans, followed by a biopsy to confirm the presence of cancer cells. Depending on the tumor’s location, different biopsy techniques may be employed.

Radiation treatment demands meticulous preparation by a dedicated team, ensuring precision and patient safety throughout the process.   Each step of the radiation treatment process is designed with precision, safety, and your well-being in mind, ensuring that you receive the most effective and personalized care possible.

Consultation

The initial step involves you and your family meeting with an ARC radiation oncologist to discuss your diagnosis, review your medical history, and consider the most effective radiation treatment options tailored to your specific case. Expectations of therapy, side effects and treatment alternatives will be discussed.

Simulation

Once a course of radiation is agreed upon a simulation, or treatment planning session is performed over a 45-60 minute period.  During the simulation, the positioning of the body is set, often using a customized mold that ensures daily reproducibility in positioning on a day-to-day basis, aiding in pre-treatment alignment. An imaging scan is performed, often using a sophisticated technology known as 4-Dimensional Scanning or Respiratory Management to pinpoint the exact location of the cancer or areas at risk relative to the geometric position of the body and treatment room. This step is crucial for designing a treatment plan that maximizes the radiation dose to the cancer while sparing surrounding healthy tissue.

The Planning Process (Behind the Scenes)

For a week or two following the simulation, a multi-disciplinary team composed of the radiation oncologist, medical physicists, and dosimetrists, collaborate behind the scenes using advanced software to 3-dimenionally reconstruct the anatomic areas of consideration and map out the precise treatment plan, calculating the optimal radiation dose distribution. This dosimetry plan is a “blueprint” that will be used to ensure accuracy in the treatment delivery.

Daily Radiation Treatments

Radiation therapy typically involves daily treatments over several weeks using a machine that generates high energy photons called a linear accelerator. The treatment room is large and is not claustrophobic.  Each session typically takes place in a 10-15 minute appointment slot, with most of this time used in positioning and alignment, while the actual beams of radiation are on for only a few minutes.  The radiation is invisible and not felt.  Patients can drive themselves to and from the appointments, continue to work or exercise and maintain their normal daily activities.  Specific restrictions, if any, can be discussed with your radiation oncologist at consultation and during the weekly on-treatment visits.

Weekly On-Treatment Physician Review

Regular meetings with patients undergoing radiation are conducted with the radiation oncologist throughout your treatment course. These check-ins allow the doctor to monitor your progress, briefly exam the area under treatment for any possible side effects, provide any medications or treatment adjustments, and discuss any questions or concerns that may arise during therapy.

Completion of Therapy and Follow-Ups

Upon finishing the radiation treatment course, a final conversation with your radiation oncologist will discuss the next steps, expectations for resolution of side effects, and any further treatment or monitoring needed. Regular follow-up appointments are crucial after completing radiation therapy, and allow the radiation team to monitor your recovery, manage any late side effects, and check for signs of cancer recurrence.