Radiation Treatments at the University of Colorado Cancer Center

A type of radiation therapy that uses a machine to aim high-energy rays directly at the cancer site or tumor.

External beam therapy that uses a CT scan to show the tumor’s exact location, size and shape. We use this information to aim the radiation beams exactly at the tumor, which shrinks the dose your normal tissue gets.

The TomoTherapy® Hi-Art® treatment system uses a unique CT scanner design to deliver radiation continuously from all angles around the patient. It features patented beam-modulating technology that divides a single beam into many smaller, narrower "beamlets" – and more angles translates to more precise treatments.

University of Colorado Hospital's TomoTherapy Treatment Facility is dedicated to providing this advanced cancer treatment.

We are national leaders in this type of minimally invasive treatment. Novalis® Shaped Beam Surgery is often used when traditional surgery is not possible because of your general health, age or the cancer’s location.

Shaped Beam Surgery can be used to treat:

• Arteriovenous malformations (AVMs)
• Brain metastases/Gliomas
• Acoustic neuromas
• Intractable seizures
• Pediatric brain tumors
• Recurrent brain tumors
• Pituitary adenomas
• Meningiomas of the skull base
• Craniopharyngiomas
• Trigeminal neuralgia
• Spine, prostate, liver and lung malignancies

Radioactive material sealed inside needles, seeds, wires or catheters is placed directly into or near a tumor.

• Also called internal radiation, implant radiation or interstitial radiation therapy.
• We are the only Radiation Therapy Oncology Group-approved site in Colorado that can perform brachytherapy for locally advanced prostate cancer.

Radioactive seeds are implanted into a body site, usually the prostate, where they give off radiation. The amount of radiation decreases over time until the seeds are no longer radioactive.

The entire body receives a low dose of radiation to wipe out the bone marrow before a bone marrow transplant.

Our PhD-level scientists merge the information about your cancer gathered through an MRI and CT scan to determine exactly where the tumor is located. We use this information to plan for 3-D conformal treatment and Intensity Modulated Radiotherapy (IMRT).

We modify the amount of radiation from external beam therapy by using multiple blocks and shields during treatment. By adjusting the radiation’s intensity, we can make sure the tumor gets the optimum dose and normal tissue and structures get minimized doses.

• We are the only Radiation Therapy Oncology Group-approved site in the Rocky Mountain region allowed to perform IMRT for national research studies.
• We have extensive experience using IMRT.

The Radiation Oncology Group at the University of Colorado has extensive experience using this technique and is the only RTOG approved site in the Rocky Mountain region allowed to perform IMRT for national protocols.