Radiation Therapy Cancer Treatments

Our specialists work together to continually improve patient care, the effectiveness of radiation treatment, and the safety of radiation technologies.

The collective expertise of our radiation oncologists, physicists and other team members is recognized across the nation. As pioneers in the field, we are known for developing the most advanced cancer therapies. More information about our advanced treatments is available under the ‘What radiation oncology treatments do we offer?’ section of this webpage.

We offer our patients the most advanced radiation therapy treatments.

• We were the first organization in the world to develop radiosurgery to treat spinal cancer and noncancerous spinal tumors.
• Our radiation specialists have advanced the use of shaped beam radiosurgery and 3D conformal radiation therapy with intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) for primary and metastatic brain tumors.

Outstanding access and attention to each patient’s unique physical and emotional needs has earned our team placement in the top 1% in the nation for patient satisfaction, as measured by Press Ganey.

Our radiation therapy team participates in bench to bedside research to improve radiation technologies and radiation delivery systems. These innovators help make sure you have access to the latest treatment options, close to home. Our researchers are funded by the National Cancer Institute, the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group and other sources.

Ongoing research by Henry Ford Radiation Oncology includes:

• Radiation physics technology applications
• Radiation therapy clinical trials for many types of cancer, including gene therapies for prostate cancer
• Clinical trials focused on reducing the side effects of therapies for breast cancer

Radiosurgery, also known at stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT), “removes” a tumor by delivering a high dose of radiation to a very precise area. This is medical, not surgical treatment.
Our Radiosurgery/Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT) program uses the most advanced radiosurgery technology, such as shaped-beam radiosurgery, image-guided radiosurgery and intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT). These technologies allow us to treat tumors anywhere in the brain, spine or body, including head and neck, lung, liver and pancreatic cancer.

We offer two of the state-of-the-art systems we use in radiosurgery:

• The Edge® radiosurgery system: the most advanced radiosurgery treatment available. Its knife-like beam targets and treats tumors that are difficult to reach with traditional surgery. This powerful tool uses a real-time tumor tracking system, so clinicians can detect even slight tumor movement. This minimizes the amount of radiation hitting surrounding healthy tissue.

As the first hospital in North America to offer the Edge®, we have treated more patients than any other hospital.

• TrueBeam™ radiotherapy system: allows clinicians to synchronize radiation therapy and radiosurgery treatment with the patient’s breathing patterns to compensate for motion and provides features to deliver advanced speed and accuracy.

MRI-guided radiation therapy uses an FDA-approved real-time magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to deliver more precise and accurate radiation treatment. Henry Ford Health is the first in the world to offer patients this advanced treatment.

Learn more about MRI-guided radiation therapy at Henry Ford Health.

Adaptive radiation therapy is one of the newest treatment options that combines MRI- and CT-guided radiation therapy. This method harnesses the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to make real-time treatment plans and adjustments.

Learn more about adaptive radiation therapy at Henry Ford Health.