Oncology >> Radiation Oncology



Cancer is curable in most cases if detected early. With advances in modern medicine, the mortality rate of this dreaded disease has come down heavily. Radiation oncology involves the treatment of cancer through radiation therapy. It involves pinpointed radiation treatment of the cancerous organ, and destroying the cancerous cells through radiation.

The cost of cancer treatment in India is a fraction of what it costs in the West. The super specialty hospitals in India, including the Indraprastha Apollo, provide the latest in the field of radiation oncology. The equipments at the Apollo Cancer Center are the latest and most modern. Listed below are some of the radiation oncology therapies available at the Apollo Hospital.

Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy involves the use of drugs to destroy cancerous tissue and cells. The drugs are highly toxic, and need to be handled by an expert who will be able to maximize the destruction of the cancer cells without damaging healthy tissue. At the Apollo Cancer Institute, highly trained chemotherapy experts provide treatments in chemotherapy.

Palliative Radiation
Palliative radiation therapy is provided to patients who cannot be cured of cancer, but who can be provided a good quality of life. Palliative radiation therapy aims at providing symptomatic relief to the patient. The Apollo Cancer Center provides palliative radiation treatment that is very useful in alleviating the pain of patients. The expert radiation oncologist skillfully directs radiation at previously marked spots to destroy some cancer cells, and most importantly, reduce the pain and discomfort of the patient.

Curative Radiation (simple and complex)
Curative radiation treatment is provided to patients in order to cure cancer. At the Apollo Cancer Institute, state of the art equipments like accelerators are used to deliver radiation to the affected area, without damaging the surrounding tissue. Curative radiation therapy is very effective in cases of leukemia and lymphatic cancer. Depending on the nature of radiation beam used, curative radiation is categorized into simple and complex. The Apollo Hospital provides both kinds of curative radiation therapies.

SRT
SRT, or Stereotactic Cancer Therapy, involves the use of small doses of radiation over a period of weeks. The small, carefully administered radiation treatment ensures that healthy tissue is not damaged by the radiation.

The Apollo Cancer Center has well trained radiation oncologists and the best equipment, all making the hospital's cancer treatment highly effective. The Micro leaf Collimator and CLINAC-600 accelerator at the hospital are the latest equipments utilized to provide SRT.

SRS (X-surgery)
SRS, or stereotactic radiation surgery, is specifically used for the treatment of brain tumors or lesions. SRS is also known as radiation surgery, or X Surgery, owing to the fact that using radiation instead of surgical knife is as effective for treating tumors. The Apollo Cancer Institute, with a proven expertise in radiation oncology, offers the best in terms of SRS treatment.

IMRT
IMRT, or Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy, uses computerized accelerators to deliver pinpointed doses of radiation to cancerous tissue. The aim is to deliver as high a dose of radiation as possible without affecting the surrounding tissue. At the Apollo Cancer Institute, IMRT using the latest accelerators forms part of the radiation oncology therapy provided at the hospital.

To know more about the oncology treatments in India, please see oncology and surgical oncology.