southsidegirl69
Posts:20

Perhaps a radiation oncologist will help with this question. I have been recommended to have SRT radiation to my lung tumor, lateral left upper lobe, 2.8 cm. The radiologist I have met with only does this type of radiation on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and he said I may need 3 to 5, or up to 10 treatments. (This schedule seems dragged out.) I have read of "gated radiation" whereby the breathing motion is factored in to the radiation treatment and can "save" surrounding healthy tissue from radiation. This is my question: Is gated radiation superior, or is collateral damage to nearby healthy tissue common and expected, accepted, and why is it not commonly used? does gated radiation require a special type of radiation machinery? How do I go about finding centers that have radiologists and this type of gated radiation treatment? (Is gated radiation used at Swedish?) I live in North Carolina, so have access to Chapel Hill, Duke, etc.but couldn't find anything about this on their websites. Thank you.

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Reply # - December 4, 2015, 04:25 AM

JimC
Posts: 2753

Hi southsidegirl,

I think you're having trouble finding information because gated radiation therapy, which does require specialized equipment, has not been implemented at a large number of radiation centers. The following link briefly discusses a study in which it was found that in most patients the benefit from its use was minimal when compared to existing methods: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1754-9485.12088/abstract

JimC
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Reply # - December 4, 2015, 10:30 AM

catdander
Posts:

Hi Southside, I just commented on another thread you asked a question on. Just an FYI, Dr. Weiss, the oncologist in the video I linked and commented on is at NCU in Chapel Hill, It would be simple enough to see if you can get an appointment with him as a 2nd opinion on the subject. I know I would.

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