Radiation Therapy

The Radiation Oncology Center of Global Care Cancer Institute Inc. (GCCI) is committed to making personalized radiation treatment available to our cancer patients in Southern Luzon. As patient advocates, our radiation oncologists aim to offer up-to-date and evidence-based treatment options that are at par with global standards and with the patients’ quality of life as priority.

The center is capable of delivering conventional (2D), conformal (3D), and intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) using its medical linear accelerator. Additionally, with its radioactive source afterloader, the center offers high dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy that can accommodate intracavitary and interstitial applications under image guidance. 

External Beam Radiation Therapy (EBRT) is a form of radiation therapy that utilizes a medical linear accelerator (LINAC) to deliver high-energy x-ray beams to target tumors. This can be done using 2D conventional, 3D conformal, and intensity-modulated techniques, which offer various levels of treatment accuracy and patient comfort.

All treatments with EBRT are planned using a computed tomography (CT) simulator, which maps out the patient’s three-dimensional anatomy by acquiring CT scan images and allows for personalized radiation dose distribution. The goal of simulation is to adequately irradiate target volumes, while at the same time avoiding normal organs that are also visualized therein.

Meanwhile, HDR Brachytherapy is a modality of treatment that uses radioactive sources (metals) for dose delivery. These sources are placed in close proximity to tumors with the use of applicators, which are inserted directly into bodily cavities. HDR brachytherapy provides very high doses to target areas, but in a very localized fashion, such that normal organs are exquisitely spared from toxicities. A mobile C-arm is used to take x-ray images of the patient and verify the correct insertion of brachytherapy applicators. Finally, a machine called a remote after loader safely delivers the radioactive sources to the target as planned.

These radiotherapeutic services, combined with GCCI’s chemotherapy unit and positron emission tomography (PET) center—the first of its kind in Laguna—make the comprehensive and multidisciplinary management of cancer more accessible than ever. There is no longer a need for our patients to travel to Metro Manila, as top-notch care is brought directly into Southern Luzon. 

The Radiation Oncology Center is manned by a multidisciplinary team comprised of radiation oncologists, medical physicists, radiation therapy technologists, and nurses. This team is in close coordination with other oncology services to provide holistic and comprehensive treatment to all patients under their care. 

SERVICES

External Beam Radiation Therapy (EBRT)

• 2D Conventional EBRT
• 3D Conformal EBRT
• Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT)

High-Dose Rate (HDR) Conventional Brachytherapy

• Gynecologic Brachytherapy
• Image-Guided Brachytherapy
• Interstitial Brachytherapy
• Prostate Brachytherapy