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Saint Barnabas Medical Center Only Hospital in New Jersey to Offer Hyperthermia Treatment Livingston, NJ - Marcia Rosenkrantz has been battling breast cancer for over 9 years. Having had a lumpectomy, radiation, a mastectomy and other treatments, many of the tools to combat her cancer had been exhausted. Last spring after one surgery, an ugly thick scab like rash (recurrent tumor) developed around her chest. “Although it did not hurt, it was gross. I had never seen anything like it and wanted to get rid of it,” she said. Because of her previous history, her options were very limited until Marcia met Dr. Robert Goodman, Director of the Radiation Oncology Department at Saint Barnabas Medical Center. Dr. Goodman had recently started incorporating Hyperthermia in conjunction with Radiation therapy. In fact, he was the only physician in New Jersey using this new and innovative treatment. Hyperthermia is a heat treatment and when used with radiation therapy can significantly increase the response rate to the radiation therapy treatment, particularly in patients who had previously been treated with radiation. “We have examples of patients with chest wall cancers who previously failed radiation treatment but by using Hyperthermia in conjunction with Radiation Therapy they had their tumors shrink away,” explained Dr. Goodman. For Marcia Rosenkrantz, this therapy was amazing. Within 6 weeks the rash was gone. Hyperthermia is recommended for use in conjunction with moderate dose radiation in individuals with superficial localized tumor recurrences and who have failed conventional treatment including prior radiation, surgery or chemotherapy. Hyperthermia has been used in conjunction with radiation therapy to treat breast cancer, head and neck cancers, skin cancers, melanomas, cancer in lymph nodes and sarcomas in soft tissue. The treatment is done on an out-patient basis and usually consists of 3-5 weeks of daily radiation and two sessions of hyperthermia per week. The Hyperthermia treatments last for 45 to 60 minutes with minimal side effects or discomfort. Hyperthermia has dramatically improved the lives of some of our patients. “This treatment is generally not a cure but is a palliative treatment that adds to the tool box available for treating cancer,” states Dr. Robert Goodman is our physician who is trained in its use. For more information about Hyperthermia or Radiation Oncology at Saint Barnabas Medical Center, please call 973-322-5630. Date: December 24, 2008 Saint Barnabas Contact: Sally Malech (973) 322-5441 [ top ] |
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