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Avera  Sacred  Heart Cancer Center

Cancer Center Services:

  • IMRT
  • Prostate Brachytherapy
  • Image Guided Radiotherapy
  • PET and MR Based Radiotherapy Tx Planning

Support Groups:

  • General
  • Breast
  • CLIMB
  • ACS sponsored programs: Look Good Feel Better, Reach to Recovery

The Avera Sacred Heart Cancer Center is ACOS Certified Staff:

  • Board Certified Radiation Oncology
  • 2 OCN staff
  • 2 Certified Radiation Therapist
  • 1 Certified Medical Dosimetrist
  • 1 MSW
  • RD
  • 1Tumor Registrar

Case Studies

Case I

The patient , a male in his mid 50s,was diagnosed at a hospital in Sioux Falls with a Stage IV base of tongue cancer. A right neck dissection was performed showing multiple lymph nodes in the neck to contain metastatic carcinoma.  The patient was referred to Avera Sacred Heart Cancer Center. He was treated with a 7 week course of intensity modulated radiation therapy along with chemotherapy.  Following the completion of radiation therapy, a  post-treatment PET/CT scan showed dramatic improvement of the previously noted abnormal activity at the base of the tongue consistent with an excellent response of the base of tongue cancer to radiation treatment.

Case 2

The patient, a woman in her late 70s from central South Dakota with a history of multiple recurrences of thyroid cancer was seen at a tertiary care medical center in Minnesota . Treatment with radiation therapy was recommended for cancer that was invading her voice box. She was referred to Avera Sacred Heart Cancer center by her primary care physician. She received a 7 week course of intensity modulated radiation therapy. She tolerated radiation therapy well except for some voice box swelling which resolved shortly after treatment. She was subsequently noted with decreased narrowing of the voice box by tumor and generally decreased tumor bulk on a PET/CT scan. Her tumor marker fell dramatically after the completion of radiation therapy