Vim & Vigor - Summer 2019 - UVA - 50

T

he damaging effects of radiation have long been known.
It's why we wear a heavy
leaden apron when we get
X-ray pictures taken at the dentist. But
for someone facing cancer, radiation
exposure is often an important step in
living free of cancer. As a University
of Virginia Health System radiation
oncologist, Timothy Showalter, MD,
has devoted his career to harnessing
the positive power of radiation-waves
of invisible energy powerful enough to
destroy cancer cells. He shares exciting developments-but also disturbing
trends-in this field.

Gold Standard
for Cervical Cancer

50

SU M M ER 2019

"But we have published research findings suggesting that smaller hospitals
can't afford to offer this option because
of lower reimbursement rates for a
more time-consuming procedure," Dr.
Showalter says.
Encouragingly, the researchers also
concluded that hospitals that see a high
volume of patients, such as UVA, are
best equipped to provide brachytherapy.
"At UVA, we are particularly proud of
our brachytherapy program, and delivering quality brachytherapy is a top
priority for us," he says. "We are fortunate that these financial considerations
have not impacted our center, but these
pressures could be a real barrier for
smaller centers."

Prostate Cancer
Breakthrough

For men facing prostate cancer, radiation therapy often involves the implanting of radioactive seeds inside the
prostate gland. These seeds release a

PHOTO BY DAN ADDISON

The most common form of radiation
therapy is known as external beam-
where beams of radiation are targeted
on a tumor. A second version is called
brachytherapy-when radioactive
material is placed inside the body. "You

are literally putting radiation into the
tumor," Dr. Showalter explains. "So
you can't get more focused treatment,
and you can't spare healthy tissue
better than when doing a targeted
brachytherapy treatment."
Brachytherapy has long been considered the gold standard treatment for
women facing certain types of cervical
and endometrial cancers. Unfortunately,
Dr. Showalter has documented an
alarming national trend-fewer women
are being offered brachytherapy, and at
the same time, there's been an increase
in the number of women dying from
these cancers. "It's disturbing because
we have this great treatment option
that's an absolute requirement of curative therapy, and it's been available for
decades, but the rates of actually using
it are dropping," Dr. Showalter says.
"It's as if you had an effective drug and
people stopped using it."
He adds nobody knows for sure why
the use of brachytherapy is declining.



Vim & Vigor - Summer 2019 - UVA

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Vim & Vigor - Summer 2019 - UVA

Contents
Vim & Vigor - Summer 2019 - UVA - Cover1
Vim & Vigor - Summer 2019 - UVA - Cover2
Vim & Vigor - Summer 2019 - UVA - Contents
Vim & Vigor - Summer 2019 - UVA - 2
Vim & Vigor - Summer 2019 - UVA - 3
Vim & Vigor - Summer 2019 - UVA - 4
Vim & Vigor - Summer 2019 - UVA - 5
Vim & Vigor - Summer 2019 - UVA - 6
Vim & Vigor - Summer 2019 - UVA - 7
Vim & Vigor - Summer 2019 - UVA - 8
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