SRHS Offering Patients Access to the World’s
Most Advanced Cancer Treatments
Singing River Hospital System
offers advanced technology for treating cancer with a new radiotherapy system capable of delivering IMRT
(Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy), the most precise and sophisticated treatment in the world. Clinicians at
The Regional Cancer Center will use the new SmartBeam™ IMRT system from Varian Medical System to treat patients
with prostate, breast, head and neck, lung, pancreatic, and other cancers where precisely placed beams can be
focused to carefully target tumor cells without harming surrounding healthy tissue. Radiation therapy is
used today in more than half of all cancer treatments due to its unique clinical advantages, and it is becoming
steadily more effective with new technologies that permit ultra-precise dose delivery. Our center is equipped with
state-of-the-art capabilities that our highly trained Medical Staff will use for treating cancer with laserlike
precision. We now have the potential to substantially improve both patient comfort and cure rates by
protecting healthy tissue while delivering more powerful doses to the tumor. Enhancing the dose
concentrations to the tumor gives clinicians a much greater chance of completely eradicating the tumor, rather
than simply causing a temporary regression. Cancer cells are fast replicating by nature, so any damage to the
genetic structure of these cells by radiation is incredibly powerful. In addition, increased optimization enables
clinicians to use radiation to treat areas that would have been considered too risky just a few years ago.
The new IMRT technique has already contributed to substantially improved clinical outcomes in prostate cancer,
according to studies in the Journal of Radiotherapy and Oncology and the International Journal of Radiotherapy and
Oncology. A key element in the Regional Cancer Center’s facility is Varian’s Clinac® medical linear
accelerator. This machine stands approximately nine feet tall by nearly 15 feet long and weighs about 18,700 lbs.
It generates high energy X-rays by usingmicrowave energy to accelerate electrons to nearly the speed of light.
As the electrons reach maximum speed, they collide with a metal target to release photons (or X-rays). The
accelerator rotates around the patient to deliver the radiation treatments from nearly any angle. The linear
accelerator is outfitted with an important accessory called a multi-leaf collimator. This device, which has
computer-controlled mechanical "leaves" or "fingers," is used to shape the beam of radiation so that it conforms
to the three-dimensional shape of the tumor. The combination of this new technology and the broad offering
of services make The Regional Cancer Center the most comprehensive facility on the Coast for cancer services. The
Regional Cancer Center, affiliated with Singing River Hospital System, is the only provider on the Mississippi
Gulf Coast with both medical oncology and radiation oncology services in one facility.
treating cancer with a new radiotherapy system capable of delivering IMRT
(Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy), the most precise and sophisticated treatment in the world. Clinicians at
The Regional Cancer Center will use the new SmartBeam™ IMRT system from Varian Medical System to treat patients
with prostate, breast, head and neck, lung, pancreatic, and other cancers where precisely placed beams can be
focused to carefully target tumor cells without harming surrounding healthy tissue. Radiation therapy is
used today in more than half of all cancer treatments due to its unique clinical advantages, and it is becoming
steadily more effective with new technologies that permit ultra-precise dose delivery. Our center is equipped with
state-of-the-art capabilities that our highly trained Medical Staff will use for treating cancer with laserlike
precision. We now have the potential to substantially improve both patient comfort and cure rates by
protecting healthy tissue while delivering more powerful doses to the tumor. Enhancing the dose
concentrations to the tumor gives clinicians a much greater chance of completely eradicating the tumor, rather
than simply causing a temporary regression. Cancer cells are fast replicating by nature, so any damage to the
genetic structure of these cells by radiation is incredibly powerful. In addition, increased optimization enables
clinicians to use radiation to treat areas that would have been considered too risky just a few years ago.