Treatments

When you’re diagnosed with cancer, you want to have the most advanced treatments at your fingertips. We take a “whole person” approach to treating any type of cancer diagnosis you may have. At Novant Health UVA Health System, we take pride in providing advanced care that can help you recover and go on to live a healthy, happy life. We combine advanced technology with our years of experience to provide you with an effective treatment plan that is centered on your needs. Our Cancer Center doctors, nurses and staff are highly trained and specialized in not only the latest cancer medicines, but in how to individually care for and support you through your cancer treatment.

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is the use of anticancer drugs to treat cancerous cells. Chemotherapy has been used for many years and is one of the most common treatments for cancer. In most cases, chemotherapy works by interfering with the cancer cell's ability to grow or reproduce. Different groups of drugs work in different ways to fight cancer cells. Chemotherapy may be used alone for some types of cancer or in combination with other treatments such as radiation or surgery. You may have many questions related to the chemotherapy (chemo) process and procedure. Novant Health UVA Health System presents the video webinar, Chemotherapy Treatment Webinar (below), so you can better understand your treatment options on your road to recovery.

View our chemotherapy treatment webinar.

Radiation Oncology

Novant Health UVA Health System offers easy access to high-precision therapy. We partner with board-certified physicians, medical physicists and clinicians with subspecialty expertise in radiation oncology. They are highly skilled and aware of the physical and emotional impact of cancer treatment. You will receive not only the most advanced treatment, but also compassionate care. A wide range of radiation oncology treatments are available at our Cancer Center in Gainesville, Culpeper Medical Center and Haymarket Medical Center including:

Learn more about our TrueBeam technology available at Novant Health Cancer Center in Gainesville

• Radiation therapy: Also called radiotherapy, this treatment method uses high-energy X-rays to kill cancer cells and stop them from growing. The rays are directed at the body by a machine called a linear accelerator.
• Image guided radiation therapy (IGRT): This treatment uses a state-of-the-art radiation delivery system that uses CT scans to create a 3-D image of the tumor and precisely deliver radiation to all sides.
• IMRT/rapid arc radiation therapy: An advanced form of radiation that delivers a precisely sculpted dose to the tumor while minimizing radiation to normal tissues. RapidArc delivers the entire dose in a 360-degree rotation, typically in less than two minutes. It delivers treatment up to eight times faster than conventional IMRT.
• Stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT): This treatment involves the delivery of one to five high dose radiation treatments directly to the tumor in sensitive areas such as the spine, lungs and liver.
• Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS): This highly targeted form of radiation is used to treat tumors in the brain in one treatment.
• Brachytherapy: This treatment uses radioactive seeds placed directly in or near the tumor to allow cancer to be treated with minimal affects to the healthy tissues around the tumor. Brachytherapy is often used to treat prostate cancer, gynecologic cancers and skin cancer. *available at Haymarket Medical Center
• SIR-Spheres®: Learn more about SIR-Speres here.
• Prone breast radiation therapy: Breast radiation delivered in the prone- or face down- position to avoid treating the underlying heart and lung, while also minimizing skin reactions. Novant Health UVA Health System Cancer Center was the first center in Northern Virginia to offer this treatment.
• Xofigo: radiopharmaceutical treatment for prostate bone metastases
• TomoHD: TomoTherapy's unique delivery pattern allows the radiation to conform to the tumor and avoid healthy tissues and organs, resulting in improved outcomes, fewer side effects from treatment and a higher quality of life for patients. *available at Culpeper Medical Center

Surgical oncology

In the event your cancer treatment requires surgery to remove a tumor or area of concern, know that you are in excellent hands with the care of our surgeons. You will be cared for by a team of experts who are specially trained in surgical procedures such as minimally invasive surgery. This treatment approach can improve your recovery time while still effectively targeting your cancer.

To learn more about the cancer services offered at Novant Health UVA Health System, please contact one of our conveniently located cancer centers:

• Novant Health UVA Health System Cancer Center
  7901 Lake Manassas Drive,
  Gainesville, VA 20155
  703-753-4045


• Novant Health UVA Health System Breast Center at Haymarket Medical Center
  15195 Heathcote Blvd., Suite. 110
  Haymarket, VA 20169
  571-261-3600