Image Guided Radiotherapy (IGRT):
Radiation
administered after imaging the patient on the treatment couch. This ensures
accurate treatment, addresses motion and positioning of patients on the
treatment couch and of tumors / organs that move e.g. prostate, which may move
consequent to the filling of the bladder or rectum that lie adjacent to it. In
addition, it also provides information to the radiation oncologist regarding
changes required in treatment parameters to account for the weight changes or
response to treatment.
Frameless Stereotactic
Radiosurgery (SRS):
Sharply
focused radiation beams, and sophisticated planning on the Brainlab iPlan
system, backed by the very accurate Exactrac system, to ablate intracranial
targets, both malignant (i.e. recurrent gliomas, metastases) and benign tumors.
The latter include Arterio-Venous malformations, meningiomas and acoustic
neurinomas. In addition (functional radiosurgery), for (trigeminal neuralgias)
can also be performed. This painless, knife-less surgery is the preferred
treatment modality for many brain lesions
Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy
(SBRT):
The
principles of radiosurgery applied outside the brain, high doseradiationis
administered in a sharply focused manner to destroy cancerous lesions. This
treatment is specifically lesions and for patients with early lung cancer,
suitable for surgery but unable to undergo the same because of medical reasons.
Intensity Modulated Radiotherapy
(IMRT):
Application
of computerized algorithms to create a radiation treatment that targets the
tumor and spares the normal tissue from radiation, this treatment is the
standard of care in many disease sites. It is applied in brain tumors to spare
the visual pathway, the brain stem and the hippocampus which is the seat of
memory, in head neck tumors to spare the salivary apparatus and the structures
involved in swallowing. Similarly in chest, abdominal and pelvic tumors to,
this technique is used to reduce dose to normal organs that lie adjacent to the
tumor.
3D Conformal Radiotherapy:
This
forms basis of mod-ern radiotherapy techniques outlined above, the essence of
this treatment method is the creation of a virtual model of each individual
patient in a treatment planning computer and then creating a radiation plan
using radiation “beams” that match the shape i.e., conform to the tumor.
High Dose Rate (HDR)
Brachytherapy:
Is the insertion or application of a radiation
source directly into or on a tumor. An essential component of the treatment of
gynecological cancers, it is also used in the treatment of cancer of the tongue
and cheek. In addition it can be placed in the “tumorbed” in cancers such as
soft tissue sarcomas, for a short, intense course of radiotherapy. The High
Dose Rate Cobalt 60 source ensures a short treatment time, measured in minutes
rather than days, as is the case in low dose rate radiotherapy
Tumor Board & Group Tumor
Board:
The paradigm in cancer treatment today is
multidisciplinary care. Apollo Cancer Institute is committed to
delivering top notch quality care not only in terms of technology but also in
terms of individualized treatmeplans tailored to the patient's specifc
indications. The thrice weekly tumor board and monthly group tumor board
meetings fosters discussion between surgical,medical and radiation oncologists.
For discussing sequencing of treatment as per the latest evidence based
guidelines, hence optimising treatment outcomes.
Cancer Awareness Program:
Cure of
cancer can be just prevention. We are organizing cancer awareness camps and
health talks on regular basis in our community, so that the facts about cancer
are correctly disseminated in the society and importance of timely diagnosis is
reite ated among the members of our community.
Hopes Program (Helping Our
Patients and families Through Education and Support):
The HOPES
program includes a variety of wellness services, educational and support
workshops on topics of interest for patients and families.
Psycho-Social Counseling:
Apollo
Cancer Institute has the best supportive care facilities in the form of
psycho-social therapies for the managementof cancer. It includes:
•
Complete emotional support
•
Psychological and spiritual support
•
Palliative care to ensure better quality of life.
Follow-Up & Management of
Recurrence:
Follow-up constitutes an important component of
treatment and is an integral part of the management protocols at Apollo Cancer
Institute. Early detection and timely management of recurrence is the principle
objective of follow-up in cancer management. This not only enhances survival
but improves quality of life of patients.
