Skip to Site Navigation Memorial Health System | Memorial Hospital for Children | Foundation | PhysicianLink  
 
Skip to the Site Area navigation  
 

Memorial Radiation Therapy

Radiation is one of the three most common forms of treatment to fight cancer. It can be used alone or in combination with other treatments/modalities. Radiotherapy uses high-energy rays to kill cancer cells, shrink tumors and prevent cancer cells from growing and spreading. External radiation is the most common type of treatment; however, treatment can also be given internally. The objective of radiation is to kill enough cancer cells to maximize the probability of a cure while minimizing side effects. And, unlike chemotherapy, radiation is considered a local treatment.

Mark B. Hazuka M.D. and Jane Witter Ridings, M.D of Pikes Peak Radiation OncologyMemorial Health System is leading the way for our patients in radiation therapy by offering treatment via:

  • State-of-the-art Varian 21EX linear accelerator with multi-directional capabilities and a 120 multi-leaf collimation feature to adjust radiation beams to the shape and size of a cancer tumor. Enhanced with a Varian Ximatron simulator, this accelerator enables therapists to create a mold in the shape of a patient’s anatomy, as well as to simulate therapy prior to actual radiation to help pinpoint the treatment area with greater accuracy.
  • Brachytherapy for radiation seeding (injecting radiation seeds to the tumor site) for prostate and breast cancers
  • Dedicated high-speed CT scanner
  • Superficial therapy for skin cancers
  • Targeted and image guided radiation through TomoTherapy—in Colorado, only at Memorial Hospital Central. 

Memorial Health System boasts an approach to radiation therapy that uses appropriate dose levels of radiation directly to cancer cells in a very targeted way, much more precisely than is possible with conventional radiotherapy. This method helps ensure the greatest possible delivery of radiation directly to cancer cells while sparing more of the surrounding healthy tissue.

Most radiation therapy treatment planning is performed by highly trained radiation oncologists, Dosimetrists and a board-certified medical physicist. Memorial Health System works exclusively with the radiation oncologists at Pikes Peak Radiation Oncology to offer state-of-the-art radiation therapies.

Pictured: Mark B. Hazuka M.D. and Jane Witter Ridings, M.D of Pikes Peak Radiation Oncology

For more information about radiation therapy, please call (719) 365-6800.