Selective Internal Radiation Spheres Therapy 

Sentara Norfolk General Hospital is the first hospital in the area to begin using Selective Internal Radiation (SIR) Spheres Therapy where microscopic radioactive resin beads are used to target advanced liver cancer.
 
Imagine millions of microscopic radio-active resin beads (spheres) traveling through the bloodstream with one mission: to target and destroy liver cancer cells. That’s exactly what SIR-Spheres® Therapy is doing for patients with primary liver cancer and inoperable secondary liver cancer (spread from colorectal and other primary cancers).
 
Targeted therapies like SIR-Spheres® destroy cancerous cells while preserving surrounding healthy cells.
 
An Outpatient Therapy
This non-surgical, outpatient therapy places a catheter in the femoral artery of the upper thigh which is threaded through the major blood vessel of the liver (hepatic artery). Through this catheter, the microscopic spheres are delivered directly to the tumor where they become trapped. For about two weeks, the injected spheres radiate the tumor, destroying the cancerous cells from the inside. SIR-Spheres® can safely deliver many times more radiation than conventional techniques. Generally patients receive two separate treatments, one month apart.

Improving Quality of Life
While SIR-Spheres® therapy is not considered a cure, it can extend survival, sometimes by years, and improve patients’ quality of life. In some cases, it can also shrink the liver tumors enough to allow for surgical removal. Not all people with advanced liver cancer are suitable for this type of therapy. Talk to your physician or call 1-800-SENTARA for more information.