Technology & Results

Use state-of-the-art equipment

At Cancer Treatment Centers of America® (CTCA) at Eastern Regional Medical Center, we focus on fighting complex and advanced stage cancer. To help us accomplish this mission we have cancer-fighting technology that supports our patients fight this challenging disease.

A few of the most recent additions to the technologies found at Eastern include the following:

Intraoperative Radiation Therapy

In 2010, Eastern Regional Medical Center became the first hospital in the country to offer Intraoperative Radiation Therapy (IORT) using the Novac 7. When physicians at Eastern first began to use IORT, they treated mainly women with breast cancer. However, now IORT can also be a valuable tool for patients battling many other cancer types by giving a “boost” of radiation during surgery thereby decreasing the number of additional radiation treatments. As of spring 2012, Eastern has treated patients with ovarian, uterine, cervical, colon, head and neck, bile duct cancers and soft tissue sarcomas using IORT.

Superficial and Deep Tissue Hyperthermia

SSuperficial Hyperthermia is a device used to expose a tumor to high temperatures, making it more susceptible to radiation. It is a support treatment for radiation therapy, and is particularly helpful in treating small tumors within 3 cm of the surface of the body, such as breast tumors. Radiation oncologists at CTCA at Eastern Regional Medical Center have been treating more patients with superficial hyperthermia than any other hospital in the country. Our superficial hyperthermia machines are housed in a new treatment suite that offers a calming space with views of famous Philadelphia landmarks backlit onto the walls and ceiling.

Rodding Procedure

CTCA Medical Director of Orthopedic Oncology Richard G. Schmidt, M.D. is well known for his expertise in the surgical management of limb salvage surgery, including a procedure known as rodding or prophylactic femoral rod fixation using the Gamma S Rod. With the added strength, roddings can prevent bones with metastatic disease from breaking throughout cancer treatment, controlling pain, keeping patients mobile, independent and ensuring a high quality of life.

Sleep Care Center

Sleep disturbances can take a toll on cancer patients, compounding symptoms of fatigue, anxiety and depression, and even interfering with the ability to tolerate life-saving treatments. In 2010 a Sleep Care Center opened on the fifth floor of Eastern, in an effort to improve patient care and services offered to existing patients. The Sleep Center, led by Program Director David P. Visco, MD, aims to improve quality of life for patients, increase patient tolerance of chemotherapy and radiation therapy, decrease morbidity and increase physical, psychological and cognitive functioning amongst those patients who were suffering from an unidentified, treatable disorder.

NanoKnife® System

Eastern Regional Medical Center is one in only a few hospitals across the nation (and the first CTCA site) to provide the NanoKnife, a minimally invasive device that precisely targets and kills hard-to-reach tumors. NanoKnife allows our interventional radiologists to treat tumors that in the past would be virtually impossible for surgeons to operate on due to their location. Learn more about the Nanoknife System.

See Results

When patients explore treatment options, they may want to know about issues like life expectancy and quality of life. To help patients and their families make more informed decisions about their cancer treatment, CTCA publishes our patient survival rates along with quality of life, patient loyalty, and speed of care results.

CTCA® is one of the first cancer treatment centers to provide our results to patients. We believe patients have the right to know this type of information. We also believe in their fundamental right to choose among the best available options for their treatment. To see our statistics and results, please visit Cancer Treatment Statistics & Results.