Cancer Care
Technology
From diagnosis through treatment, Ingalls is armed with the most advanced - and most powerful - cancer technology available in the south suburbs.
Intensity modulated radiation therapy
Ingalls was the first hospital in the south suburbs to offer intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), which directs higher doses of radiation at tumors while reducing exposure to surrounding tissue.
IMRT can treat multiple tumors at the same time, reducing the number of treatment sessions; treat previously inoperable tumors or tumors located near critical structures such as the spinal cord; and treat repeat cancers that may already have received maximum dose limits.
By offering IMRT, Ingalls joins the company of other leading cancer institutions such as Stanford University and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
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Image guided radiation therapy
Tumors are not stationary, unchanging targets; they move between and during treatments. IGRT uses daily computerized tomography (CT) scanning to create three-dimensional images that pinpoint the exact size, location and coordinates of the tumor.
IGRT complements another advanced cancer treatment, intensity-modulated radiation therapy, or IMRT. That therapy, which has been available at Ingalls for several years, helps doctors contour radiation around tumors and away from healthy tissues. It can be off target, however, as tumors or organs shift.
IGRT addresses the problem by allowing doctors to take scans and make adjustments just before the radiation beam is turned on.
In the past, radiation oncologists have had to compensate for tumor movements by making the radiation beam larger, exposing a significant volume of healthy tissue to radiation. With IGRT, a robotically controlled "arm" captures CT images on the day of treatment, pinpointing the position of the cancer just prior to treatment. This increased precision allows for higher doses of radiation, ultimately leading to more precise treatment and higher cure rates.
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Positron emission tomography (PET/CT)
Ingalls Family Care Center in Tinley Park is home to the south suburbs' most advanced PET/CT scanner which can detect cancer at the molecular level. PET/CT can often determine if the body has cancer and other conditions well before other tests. Doctors use the test to determine the specific stage of the disease and how treatment plans can be modified to improve effectiveness. Other technologies include a high-field MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) and nuclear scanners.
For more information about PET/CT, Ingalls has designed a patient information portal to address your frequently asked questions. Please visit Ingalls PET/CT for more information on the benefits of a PET/CT scan versus a PET only scan. To schedule a PET/CT scan please contact Central Scheduling at 708-915-3333.
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MRI-guided breast biopsy
Lumps or abnormalities in the breast are often detected by imaging studies including mammography, ultrasound or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). However, it is not always possible to tell from these imaging tests whether a growth in the breast is benign or cancerous.
In MRI-guided breast biopsy, magnetic resonance imaging is used to help guide the radiologist's instruments to the suspicious area. The procedure is less invasive than surgical biopsy, requires only a local anesthetic, leaves little or no scarring, and can be performed in less than an hour.
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Chemoembolization
A technique called transcatheter chemoembolization is used for some patients with liver cancer or other types of cancer that have spread to the liver. The procedure is a way of delivering cancer treatment directly to a tumor through minimally invasive means.
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Radiofrequency ablation (RFA)
Local treatments attack cancer at a specific site. Surgery to remove tumors is the most common local treatment. Radiation therapy is a local treatment when it is delivered through radioactive particles, seeds or rods implanted directly into a tumor. This type of radiation treatment is called brachytherapy. RFA and other interventional procedures are a new type of local treatment that is especially promising for patients whose cancers cannot be treated surgically. RFA does not rule out other options, and it can be used before or after surgery or radiation therapy, or in addition to systemic treatments.
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Cryotherapy for prostate and kidney tumors
Cryotherapy kills cancerous cells of the prostate and kidney by freezing them with argon gas. Unlike more radical cancer treatments, cryotherapy is considered minimally invasive and is performed on an outpatient basis. Cryotherapy can be used to treat prostate cancer patients in the intermediate- and high-risk groups, as well as those who have failed previous radiation treatment.
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Radioimmunotherapy
Ingalls was the first hospital in the south suburbs to treat patients with Zevalin™ radioimmunotherapy, a new type of cancer therapy that when infused into a patient delivers radiation directly to cancerous cells.
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Radiation therapy (RT)
Radiation therapy, sometimes called radiotherapy, is the use of various forms of radiation to safely and effectively treat cancer and other diseases. Doctors use radiation therapy to try to cure cancer, to control the growth of the cancer or to relieve symptoms, such as pain.
Radiation therapy works by damaging the DNA within cancer cells and destroying the ability of the cancer cells to reproduce. When these damaged cells die, the body naturally eliminates them. Normal cells are also affected by radiation, but they are able to repair themselves in a way that cancer cells cannot.
While you undergo radiation therapy, a team of highly trained medical professionals will be working together to make sure you receive the best care possible. A radiation oncologist, a doctor who specializes in using radiation to treat cancer, leads this team.
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Oncotype DX breast cancer assay
This test, which can help predict the likelihood of breast cancer recurrence and if chemotherapy would be beneficial in treating the cancer, is intended for women whose cancer has not spread to lymph nodes and who have tumors that are sensitive to hormonal therapy.
What makes the test at Ingalls unique is that it can be used on all breast tumor tissue samples from women who have early-stage, lymph node-negative, estrogen-receptor positive breast cancer. That means the patient's physician doesn't have to order the test. It is automatically done.
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