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TheraSphere
Outpatient Procedure to Extend the Lives of patients with Inoperable
Liver Cancer
Dr. Niedzwiecki is proud to be one of the first
eight sites in the United States to offer a new cancer therapy known as Therasphere.
What is Therasphere?
TheraSphere is a non-surgical
outpatient procedure that uses millions of microscopic glass beads imbedded with the radioactive element yttrium-90
and is administered directly into the blood vessels of the tumors to treat inoperable liver cancer.
TheraSphere was approved
by the Food and Drug Administration in March 2000 for treatment of liver cancer that cannot be removed surgically.
How is Theraspher Performed?
Patients are given an IV sedation to put them into a light sleep.
The right groin is then cleaned and a very tiny catheter the size of a strand of spaghetti is then advanced into
the artery in the right groin. The arteries are then used as the highway system and the catheter is directed up
to the artery which supplies the liver. This catheter is positioned safely within the artery supplying the liver
and these particles are then released from the end of the catheter and carried by the blood stream into the blood
vessels of the tumor. These particles are larger than the blood vessels of the tumor and are trapped in the blood
vessels of the tumor. Once trapped there, TheraSphere treats the tumor with high doses of radiation over
several days. Unlike external beam radiation treatments, the treatment provides radiation directly to the tumors,
while sparing the healthy surrounding tissues. They remain in the body and lose their radiation within two weeks.
What are the Risks?
The radioactivity only penetrates the tissues 2 mm, and therefore
no radioactivity escapes the liver or the patients. These particles can travel nowhere else in the body as the
blood vessels of the tumor are smaller than the particles, essentially trapping the particles in place. The blood
supply to the liver is not effected as normal liver receives 80% of it's blood supply from the portal vein, while
the tumors within the liver receive 100% of their blood supply from the hepatic artery. By placing the catheter
directly in the hepatic artery, most of the particles are directed to the liver tumors.
Initial clinical results with this therapy are dramatic.
Patients can return home the same day.
Patients will feel fatigued for one week following this procedure
but there is very little discomfort or pain associated with this procedure.
The availability of TheraSphere means patients now have a potentially
safer, alternative treatment for primary liver cancer. This is significant, given both the side effects and extended
hospital stays required by chemotherapy, as well as the significant increase in the incidence of this cancer predicted
by current statistics.
Where do I Call for a Consultation?
Please Call
us TODAY at 727-791-7300 if you have any questions.
We're looking forward to helping you .
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