Cancer comes in many forms. Each individual's treatment depends on the type and stage of the cancer, the patient's health, and other factors. Physicians treat cancer with surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, and biotherapy. A multi-disciplinary approach is the cornerstone of modern cancer care. We work closely with referring surgeons, physicians, and/or medical oncologists to provide the best care possible.

Treatment regimens at the RCTC usually last from one to six weeks. Treatments are done as out-patient procedures, allowing the patient to return home following each treatment.

There is strong evidence that patients have better quality of life when they are treated in familiar surroundings and able to return to their homes and families after treatments. The ability to return home also provides significant cost savings, compared to frequent trips or lengthy stays in another city.

Typical cancers treated at the Regional Cancer Treatment Center include: skin, lung, breast, uterus, prostate, colorectal, lymphomas and metastatic disease of all kinds.

Head & Neck Cancer

Treatment options include primary radiation therapy to avoid mutilating surgery. This is commonly combined with concomitant chemotherapy. Radiation therapy is also used post-operatively to maximize the chance for cure.

Breast Cancer

We commonly treat patients after lumpectomy to preserve the breast and avoid breast removal. Patients are also treated after mastectomy, to maximize the chance for cure, when dealing with more advanced cancers.

Lung Cancer

Treatment combined with chemotherapy is commonly employed to maximize survival.

Rectal Cancer

Pre-operative or post-operative treatment combined with chemotherapy is common.

Radiation Therapy

Radiation therapy involves the destruction of cancer cells with high energy beams. Approximately one-half of all cancer patients receive radiation therapy treatment. This is the primary treatment for many cancers and often presents an option to surgery. Radiation affects cancer cells by destroying the cancer cell's ability to reproduce itself, thus stopping or slowing the growth of the cancer. It also affects cancer cells more severely than healthy cells. Cancer cells are sick cells that cannot repair themselves as quickly as healthy cells when damaged by radiation, thus giving healthy cells an advantage as your body fights the cancer.

3D Treatment Planning

Three dimensional conformal radiation therapy is a valuable asset at the Regional Cancer Treatment Center. Following traditional simulation, a CT scan is performed in the treatment position and, using the treatment planning computer, the radiation therapy ports are designed. This permits more accurate treatment of a cancer, sparing more normal adjacent tissue. This achieves the goal of cure or palliation while minimizing the potential for side effects or complications from the treatment. The ADAC Pinnacle treatment planning computer also allows integration of diagnostic pre-operative CT data as well as PET scan data, which significantly impacts the precision of the treatment.