Always looking for the next best treatment option for our patients, Genesys Hurley Cancer Institute (GHCI) follows an evolution of care approach, which produces thousands of patient success stories year after year.
The radiation oncology team at GHCI offers the most innovative treatments, technology and resources available while continually seeking even better methods to save more lives through employing the latest advancements in cancer care.
Evolutions in breast cancer treatments is one example.
GHCI radiation oncologists use hypofractionated radiation therapy, also known as accelerated whole breast irradiation (AWBI) as the standard of care. Patients receive a larger, more precisely targeted dose of radiation for a shorter amount of time when compared to standard radiation therapy. Traditionally, radiation therapy for breast cancer consisted of five to six weeks of treatment, however, GHCI has reduced this time frame to three to four weeks for the majority of patients with early stage breast cancer, thanks to clinical trials demonstrating equal effectiveness and improvement in side effects. Patients can complete their therapy sooner, safer and more effectively with less costs than conventional treatment.
In addition to hypofractionated radiation therapy, GHCI clinicians also offer a one-to-two-week treatment for breast cancer patients using partial breast irradiation, also known as accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI). This technique replaces whole breast irradiation. A recently reported large, randomized trial (NSABP B-39), showed a less than 5 percent rate of recurrence in the breast for whole breast irradiation and partial breast irradiation at 10 years. (Partial breast irradiation is recommended for selected low risk patients.)
GHCI also offers hypofractionated radiation therapy for prostate cancer patients. This exciting new evidence-based treatment option reduces treatment time from eight weeks to 5 ½ weeks. For select low risk patients, treatment can be as short as one week!
The American Society for Radiation Oncology, the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the American Urological Association support hypofractionated radiation therapy as an evidence-based treatment.
Palliative radiation for the treatment of bone metastases also has been reduced from two weeks (10 treatments) to as few as one treatment, thanks to advancements at GHCI.
Small lung tumors, which previously were treated with invasive surgery as a first-line treatment, now often can be treated with stereotactic ablative body radiation (SABR or SBRT), and in as little as three to five treatments (previously six weeks of treatments). Through SABR, extremely precise, very intense doses of radiation is delivered to cancer cells while minimizing damage to healthy tissue.
GHCI is the only center in Michigan to offer AccuBoost.
This non-invasive, innovative, evolutionary brachytherapy approach is used exclusively for the treatment of breast cancer. It provides the physician with greater control in targeting radiation by immobilizing the breast, allowing the radiation oncologist to deliver localized treatment with even greater precision to the site of the cancer. The combination of breast immobilization, mammographic imaging and radiation shielding provides highly effective results. To learn more about AccuBoost, visit: http://www.accuboost.com/accuboost-for-patients/how-accuboost-works/
GHCI offers the most advanced technology.
The Genesys Hurley Radiation Oncology department offers a full range of radiation therapy options, including external beam radiation – stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS), stereotactic body radiosurgery (SBRT), volumetric arc therapy (VMAT), intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and brachytherapy. To learn more about these treatment options, visit: https://ghci.org/radiation-oncology/types-of-treatment/
GHCI is an ACR accredited center.
The American College of Radiology (ACR) is recognized as the gold standard in medical imaging and therapeutic radiation accreditation. Accreditation means patients have the assurance we are providing the highest level of image quality and safety including staff, equipment and quality.
GHCI meets the highest standards of clinical excellence.
GHCI participates in the Michigan Radiation Oncology Quality Consortium (MROQC). We follow a strict set of guidelines based on national guidelines establishing the standard of care for cancer treatment (National Comprehensive Cancer Network, NCCN), and we establish goals to improve quality of care, and best approaches to treatment, as a statewide cooperative network.
To further improve our quality of care, GHCI is enrolled in the Radiation Oncology Incident Learning System, a national database sponsored by the American Society for Radiation Oncology and the American of Physicists in Medicine. Its purpose is to improve patient safety and ensure radiation patients receive the highest quality of care.