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Varian Medical Systems is a world-leading manufacturer of radiation oncology systems for treating cancer. Its Integrated medical systems include linear accelerators, accessories and software for planning and delivering the most sophisticated radiosurgery treatments available.
This brochure is intended as a general guide to TrueBeam It does not replace a full discussion with your doctor and healthcare team. It is important to know that radio surgery, including TrueBeam radiosurgery, is not appropriate for all types of cancer. Actual treatment times may vary. Typical radiosurgery treatments can be delivered during one day or for a series of days depending on your particular case. Serious side effects are treatment site specific and can include diarrhea, nausea, swelling at the treatment site, lymphedema, and secondary cancer. Talk to your doctor about what you can expect from your treatment and to find out if treatment with the TrueBeam system is right for you.
Treatment
Treatment delivery is the implementation of the plan. A therapist will guide you into a treatment room and help position you on a treatment table. Just prior to treatment, you will be imaged so that the therapist can verify the tumor location. The therapist then begins your treatment. The machine that creates the beam will rotate at various angles around you. The therapist who is running the treatment can be in constant contact with you. The process will most likely only take a few minutes. Sometimes the first TrueBeam treatment take a little longer than your following treatments since there may be some additional setup that is required.
Follow-up Care
After the treatment, you’ll undergo follow-up care with your doctor. During this time, he or she will monitor your progress and recovery. This is an opportunity to ask your doctor questions, raise concerns about any side effects or inquire about your treatments and status of your health.
Contents
- Introduction
- What Is Radiosurgery and How Does It Work?
- TrueBeam is Truly Unique
- TrueBeam Treatment
Introduction
When you have been diagnosed with cancer, it is important to discuss with your healthcare team all available treatment options. One possible option is radiosurgery. This guide will give you a brief overview of a radiosurgery treatment technology using an advanced system called TrueBeam. You should discuss with your healthcare team whether treatment with the TrueBeam system is right for you.
The TrueBeam system is a radiosurgery system that uses noninvasive tumor-destroying radiation to treat cancers I throughout the body as it minimizes exposure to the surrounding healthy tissue. Developed by Varian Medical Systems, a world-leader in radiation oncology solutions, this powerful technology is precise, accurate and fast. In fact, most treatments only take 5 – 10 minutes a day. And the TrueBeam system’s advanced imaging and treatment modes allow doctors to tailor treatments specifically to a particular cancer.
As you read this guide, we hope that you’ll gain a better understanding of this new technology and how it may be able to help you. Again, your doctor will be your best resource going forward and will help determine if TrueBeam is right for you.
TrueBeam Treatment
There are several steps to a radiosurgery treatment, including a TrueBeam treatment: tumor visualization, planning, treatment delivery and follow-up care.
Tumor Visualization
During this process, 3-D images are generated of your tumor. This allows your doctor to know the size, shape and location of the tumor. Knowing this, they can best determine the dose of radiation you’ll need.
Planning
Once the specifics of the tumor are understood, a treatment plan is developed that specifies the correct dosage (in other words, how much radiation dose is delivered), where it is delivered and a schedule for treatment. Highly trained medical specialists will use sophisticated treatment planning software to develop a three-dimensional “picture” of the area of your tumor. They will then determine the amount of radiation the tumor should receive as well as from what angles.
What Is Radiosurgery and How Does It Work?
As technical as it is, the underlying idea of radiosurgery is really pretty simple: high-intensity beams of radiation are used with great precision (within Imm) to destroy cancer cells. When you undergo a TrueBeam treatment, these beams damage cancerous cells while minimizing exposure to nearby healthy cells. When the cancerous cells are hit by the very precise beams, their ability to reproduce is compromised and they eventually die, causing the tumor to shrink. However, unlike cancer cells, normal cells have the ability to repair themselves.
Advances in technology, like TrueBeam, have provided innovative treatments for people with cancer. Stereotactic body radiotherapy (also known as SBRT) and stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) are two of the most important of these treatments. Both use high doses of radiation targeted precisely to destroy tumors. SRS treatments are generally used for tumors in the brain and central nervous system while SBRT is often used for tumors in other parts of the body.
It is important to know that radiosurgery, including TrueBeam radiosurgery, is not appropriate for all types of cancer. Actual treatment times may vary. Typical radio surgery treatments can be delivered during one day or for a series of days depending on your particular case. Serious side effects are treatment site specific and can include diarrhea, nausea, swelling at the treatment site, lymphedema and secondary cancer. Talk to your doctor about what you can expect from your treatment and to find out if treatment with the TrueBeam system is right for you.
Built to address patient comfort
TrueBeam isn’t just powerful and accurate. It was designed to enhance the patient experience.
- Fast, precise treatments can take just minutes a day minimizing discomfort and interruptions to your daily life.
- The therapist operating the machine are in constant contact with you. Continuous two-way audio and video with the therapist allows you to communicate easily throughout your treatment.
- TrueBeam runs smoothly and quietly. Advanced features allow music to be played during treatment, helping to enhance your comfort.
Yes, you are being treated with very powerful technology. but remember that you are also being treated by an expe rienced and caring group of medical professionals. These people put your care and comfort first, and TrueBeam ease of use and smooth operation help them focus on what matters most–you.
What Is TrueBeam?
TrueBeam is an advanced radiosurgery system from Varian Medical Systems that delivers treatment with speed and accuracy.
TrueBeam synchronizes a treatment beam system (that provides the beams of radiation for treatment) to an imaging system (that allows doctors to see the tumor they’re treating). It also has very sophisticated respiratory monitoring systems that compensate for your breathing as it targets tumors in the thorax and abdomen. Because treatments are noninvasive, there is no incision or surgery with TrueBeam. The ability to deliver higher doses of radiation at great speed allows most treatments to be given in just minutes a day.
TrueBeam Is Truly Unique. Here Are Some of the Ways It Is Different.
Personalized treatments
- TrueBeam is an advanced technology that gives doctors the flexibility to customize treatments for an individual’s particular cancer, including some of the more challenging cases in places like the brain, lung. liver, pancreas and prostate.
- TrueBeam performs advanced treatments like stereotactic body radiotherapy (also known as SBRT) and stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS). This gives your doctor the opportunity to tailor your treatment-to choose a method this is best for your particular case.
Fast, precise treatments
TrueBeam is finely engineered to be fast and precise with most treatments taking just minutes a day.
- In fact, even tumors that move (for example, those in the lungs) can be precisely targeted thanks to special tools that compensate for motion during a treatment.
- The imaging systern on the TrueBeam will let your doctor visualize, in real time, the tumor that is being treated. Additional functionality provides for the acquisition of a cone-beam CT, a form of CT, using 25% less X-ray dose than compared with earlier Varian image-guided technologies.
- Every tumor is different, and TrueBeam can sculpt and shape the radiation beam to accurately match the size and form of just about any tumor regardless of its shape. It uses a device called a multileaf collimator that has 120 computer-controlled “leaves” or “fingers” that can move to create an aperture of different sizes and shapes. During treatment, this aperture changes to target the tumor and minimize exposure to the surrounding healthy tissue.