Providence unveils a treatment option that battles tumors withhigh-dose radiation catheters

Southern Oregon cancer-fighters have a new tool in their kit.

Doctors at Providence Medford Medical Center can now wallop tumors with a powerful dose of radiation delivered from inside the body. The treatment, known as "high-dose-rate brachytherapy," uses a slender catheter to place a tiny sliver of highly radioactive material inside the tumor. Radiation bombards the cancer cells from the inside, minimizing damage to healthy tissues that surround the tumor.

Higher doses of radiation make each treatment much shorter, so patients spend far less time in the hospital, said Dr. Kenneth Haugen, Providence’s medical director for radiation oncology.

"With a low dose rate, a patient might have to spend two days in the hospital," Haugen said. "With a high dose rate, the treatment takes 10 minutes."

Rogue Valley patients had to travel to Eugene or Portland for high-dose brachytherapy until Providence acquired its equipment this spring with $232,000 raised during the 2004 Festival of Trees.

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"The high dose rate is what’s new here," Haugen said.

Besides cutting travel time and hospital stays, the technique has clear medical advantages. Patients who lie still for long periods are more likely to have blood clots and other complications, Haugen said.

He noted that brachytherapy has been widely used in the United States and Europe for years.

"It’s not a new technique to America," Haugen said. "It’s not a new technique to the world, but it’s brand new to the (Rogue) valley."

The cancer-fighting radiation comes from a thin slice of iridium-192 at the end of a wire less than .03 inches thick. Physicians decide where to place the radioactive material by using a computer that analyzes images of the tumor. They insert the catheter into the tumor and then slide the radioactive wire down the catheter into the tumor itself.

The computer helps physicians develop a treatment plan that radiates the full volume of the tumor. The wire can be moved to provide radiation at a number of sites inside the tumor, said Joe Hellman, medical physicist at Providence.

"We create a ‘dose cloud’ of radiation," Hellman said. "The computer tells us how long each dose should be."

Several catheters can be used if the tumor requires radiation from more than one site.

Hellman said brachytherapy is covered by most insurance companies, but the amount of coverage varies with each insurance plan. A course of treatment could cost $20,000 for someone with no insurance.

Brachytherapy can be used to treat cancers of the head and neck, gynecological cancers and cancers of the lung and prostate. Right now, Providence physicians are using it mostly for gynecological cancers.

Mary Arias of Eagle Point found brachytherapy a welcome option when she faced radiation treatment for vaginal cancer.

The Eagle Point woman had spent nine days in a Eugene hospital this spring recovering from a difficult surgery. When her doctors told her she would need radiation treatments, she was relieved to learn she would not have to return to a hospital bed for several days.

As for the treatment itself, "it’s so unremarkable I don’t have much to say about it," she said.

"They have you in a room. They put the tube in there and then it’s done. I’m so grateful I could do it here. I could come back home."

Reach reporter Bill Kettler at 776-4492, or e-mail bkettler@mailtribune.com.