Radiation therapy
An oncologist is a type of doctor who specializes in the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of cancer. One type of treatment an oncologist may use is radiation therapy, which destroys cancer cells through beams of strong energy.
Radiation oncology in Denver
We prioritize your needs when creating your personalized radiation therapy treatment.
Our radiation therapists apply their significant clinical radiation expertise when caring for you. HCA HealthONE Physicians also uses sophisticated technology that improves the potential benefits of treatment.
Related specialties
Learn more about our related specialties.
Our radiation treatments and services
Our advanced treatments can send radiation directly to the site of your tumor — delivering a powerful dose of radiation while sparing normal, healthy tissue. Our radiation oncologists use many types of radiation therapy to treat different types of cancer.
Deep inspiration breath-holding technique
This technique is designed to minimize how much radiation your heart gets. During treatment, you'll take a deep breath in, allowing your lungs to fill with air and moving your heart away from your chest. This technique is commonly used in conditions like left-sided breast cancer, lymphoma or tumors in your chest and upper abdomen.
External beam radiation therapy
The most common type of radiation therapy used for cancer treatment, external beam therapy is usually performed during outpatient visits at a hospital or treatment center. You can get external radiation therapy over many weeks. During this treatment, a machine aims high-energy rays from outside your body into the tumor.
High dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy
This internal radiotherapy involves the insertion of thin tubes into your prostate gland. Once inside, a source of radiation is passed through the tubes into your prostate to destroy cancer cells. We remove the source of radiation after treatment.
Image-guided radiation therapy
This form of external radiation treatment allows your radiation oncologist to adjust your position or the radiation as needed. By doing so, we ensure the beams are focused on your tumor and that exposure to your healthy tissue is limited.
Intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT)
IMRT allows stronger beams of radiation to get to certain areas of your tumor while decreasing damage to nearby healthy tissue. This is done using advanced computer programs that calculate and deliver the radiation to cancer cells at various angles.
Intraoperative radiation therapy
This treatment involves delivering a type of radiation directly to your tumor. It's typically used if your tumor can't be removed completely or if it poses the risk of returning. During this procedure, our surgeons move your healthy, normal tissue away from your tumor and use special shields to protect your healthy tissue.
Respiratory gating
Tumors sometimes move during radiation therapy. The likelihood of this happening becomes more likely if the tumor is in an area of your body that moves as you breathe in and out. Respiratory gating is a process that uses advanced software to guide radiation delivery as you breathe. By working with the movement of your body, this technique minimizes the dose of radiation sent to your healthy tissue and maximizes the dose applied to the tumor.
Stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT)
Commonly used to treat smaller tumors, your doctor might decide to use SBRT if your cancer has spread. Many prostate cancer, lung cancer and kidney cancer cases are treated with this method.
Stereotactic radiosurgery
Commonly used to treat smaller tumors, your doctor might decide to use SBRT if your cancer has spread. Many prostate cancer, lung cancer and kidney cancer cases are treated with this method.