Treatments & Programs

Overview

Lahey’s Department of Radiation Oncology is known for the development and use of specialized, advanced radiation therapy procedures for treating cancer, including:

Brachytherapy

The development of custom surface mold applicators allows for innovative head, neck and full scalp radiation treatment for more complicated or recurrent malignancies, located in areas that have been traditionally difficult to treat with radiotherapy.Our extensive brachytherapy program treats a variety of different types of tumors, including cancers of the prostate, breast, cervix, uterus, skin, esophagus, lung, liver and gallbladder. In these circumstances, we either use radioactive “seeds” that are implanted in the tumor or a “high dose rate” technique in which radiation is inserted into the tumor for a period of time and then removed.

Stereotactic Radiosurgery

Stereotactic radiosurgery is available for intracranial (brain) and extracranial (body) treatment of tumors. Through stereotactic radiosurgery, highly focused radiation is directed at the tumor with multiple rotational beams to deliver precise radiation treatments that minimize the impact on adjacent healthy tissue.

Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy

This treatment option is available for patients with:

• Medically inoperable lung cancer
• Liver tumors
• Primary, metastatic and recurrent tumors of the spine and brain
• Primary and recurrent tumors in the abdomen and pelvis
• Some benign tumors and conditions

Our program includes multidisciplinary collaboration, a rigorous quality assurance process and team communication with every step. Our technology includes full radiosurgery (SRS) and radiotherapy (SBRT) capabilities in both Burlington and Peabody, including robotic targeting aided by dedicated stereoscopic X-ray imaging, high-resolution apertures and sophisticated motion tracking.

Breast Radiotherapy

We offer a range of breast treatment options, which allow for a patient-centered approach for choosing the right method of treatment. Our treatment options provide minimal radiation exposure to a patient’s heart, lungs and normal tissue.

We offer techniques such as:

• Respiratory gating
• Prone breast treatment
• Partial breast irradiation
• Intraoperative radiotherapy (IORT)
• Accuboost image-guided brachytherapy
• Electron chest wall radiotherapy

State-of-the-Art Cancer Screening Practices

With the knowledge that screening can save lives, Lahey Hospital & Medical Center offers a variety of innovative screenings, including breast tomosynthesis (3D mammograms) for improved early detection of breast cancer, CT colonography and low-dose CT lung screening for those at high risk for developing lung cancer.

Additional Radiation Therapy Services

We also offer nutrition and supportive oncology services.