Our Services
Cancer Services
Swedish Cancer Institute
The Swedish Cancer Institute at Stevens Hospital remains committed to delivering the highest quality of treatment using state-of-the-art equipment in a patient-centered care environment. Fully one-third of our patients receive treatment with intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), a technique that improves accuracy, minimizes toxicity and increases radiation dose, thereby improving cure rates.
We perform the most advanced form of IMRT, called image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT). Comprehensive services, including physics and dosimetry support, radiation oncology nursing, radiation therapists, social services and nutrition counseling, are available to provide personalized and compassionate care to patients and their families.
A new computed tomography (CT) simulator was installed in fall 2007, another step in maintaining our world-class standard of care. The model is a large-bore CT, which will enhance patient comfort and optimize patient positioning. This CT has 4-D radiation treatment capabilities, which takes into account respiratory motion.
In summer 2009, Swedish Cancer Institute launched a new prostate brachytherapy program at Stevens Hospital in conjunction with Drs. Timothy Roddy and James Downey of Urology Northwest. Prostate brachytherapy is the placement of radioactive sources with surgical precision into the prostate gland to eradicate localized prostate cancer. This treatment has equivalent cure rates with surgery, with a more rapid recovery period and potentially less side effects.
Through participation in the weekly Tumor Board and close cooperation with our medical oncology colleagues at Puget Sound Cancer Centers, surgeons and other specialists at Stevens Hospital, we continue to offer the most up-to-date multidisciplinary treatment approaches to our patients.
The Swedish Cancer Institute at Stevens Hospital, through its alliance with the Swedish Cancer Institute, Seattle Prostate Institute and the Tumor Institute Radiation Oncology Group, offers all modern radiation services. This includes Gamma Knife radiosurgery, high-dose-rate brachytheraphy for gynecologic and urologic malignancies, systemic radiation therapy, external beam radiation therapy (IMRT/IGRT), and the premier radioactive seed implantation program in the United States. Through our collaboration with Swedish Cancer Institute, we will have direct access to CyberKnife radiosurgery.
Due to our technology and expertise, residents and fellows from the top training programs in the country regularly fly to Seattle and spend 2 to 4 weeks with us to observe these therapies at Swedish Cancer Institute at Stevens.
For more information, visit the Swedish Cancer Institute's website at www.swedish.org.
