NEWS & EVENTS!
New Treatment for Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer
Our Radiation Oncology Department now offers a new treatment option for skin cancer. The Axxent Electronic Brachytherapy System by Xoft is an excellent alternative or supplement to surgery and radio-isotope based therapies. It has been primarily used to treat basal or squamous cell carcinoma sites. This precise delivery allows for minimal radiation exposure to the surrounding healthy tissue. Within the last year we have experienced exceptional results with this new treatment. The key now will be to promote this treatment option to patients and referring physicians throughout the community. Our physicians and physics group are now working on implementing IORT breast treatments using this new technology. We hope to have this implemented within the next few months.
For more information, please view the Xoft brochure (pdf)
Act Against Cancer:
UACC using targeted radiation therapies to reduce breast cancer patient risk
ACR Accreditation Earned:
The Department of Radiation Oncology at the University of Arizona Cancer Center has been awarded a three-year term of accreditation in radiation oncology as the result of a recent review by the American College of Radiology (ACR). It is the only cancer center in Southern Arizona and just the fourth in the state to receive this accreditation.
The ACR is the nation’s oldest and most widely accepted radiation oncology accrediting body, with nearly 500 accredited sites, and 25 years of accreditation experience. The ACR seal of accreditation represents the highest level of quality and patient safety. It is awarded only to facilities meeting specific Practice Guidelines and Technical Standards developed by ACR after a peer-review evaluation by board-certified radiation oncologists and medical physicists who are experts in the field.
Patient care and treatment, patient safety, personnel qualifications, adequacy of facility equipment, quality control procedures, and quality assurance programs are assessed. The findings are reported to the ACR Committee on Radiation Oncology Accreditation, which subsequently provides the practice with a comprehensive report they can use for continuous practice improvement.
Radiation oncology (radiation therapy) is the careful use of high-energy radiation to treat cancer. A radiation oncologist may use radiation to cure cancer or to relieve a cancer patient’s pain.
The ACR is a national professional organization serving more than 36,000 diagnostic/interventional radiologists, radiation oncologists, nuclear medicine physicians, and medical physicists with programs focusing on the practice of medical imaging and radiation oncology and the delivery of comprehensive health care services.
