Northeast Georgia Medical Center’s (NGMC) Cancer Services continues to find new ways to improve cancer care for its patients. NGMC now offers cancer patients a non-invasive treatment approach utilizing high dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy, which helps physicians treat skin cancer with exact precision and without damaging unnecessary surrounding tissue.

Performed as an outpatient procedure, HDR brachytherapy offers patients an essentially painless alternative to traditional surgical treatment and/or conventional radiation therapy. When used to treat skin cancers, HDR brachytherapy can provide greater precision and higher doses of radiation delivered in a shorter amount of time.

 “This novel treatment does not involve an incision of any kind and has the potential for fewer radiation treatments, which means less visits to the doctor and, often, an easier recovery,” says Jaymin Jhaveri, MD, MS, a radiation oncologist with Northeast Georgia Physicians Group.

“Thanks to continued collaboration from our physics, dosimetry and radiation therapy teams, we’re now able to provide this highly effective treatment for skin cancers that leaves little to no residual side effects,” Dr. Jhaveri adds.

While HDR brachytherapy is not the answer for all cancer patients, it has proven to be a good option for older patients or those with lesions in a difficult area to treat. NGMC’s Cancer Services offers this treatment option in both Gainesville and Braselton.

“In order to provide the most effective cancer treatment, we must always be looking for new and better ways to care for our patients,” says Jayme Carrico, executive director of NGMC’s Cancer Services. “The teamwork shown between these different specialties to introduce a new solution for the benefit of our patients truly demonstrates our core values, specifically deep interdependence and passion for excellence.”

NGMC’s Cancer Services holds Gold-Level Accreditation with Commendation from the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Commission on Cancer. Additionally, the ACS awarded NGMC with the 2018 Outstanding Achievement Award – a recognition given to only one program in Georgia, and just 24 nationwide.

HDR brachytherapy is just one of the many advanced treatments NGMC’s Cancer Services offers. Our expert physicians and clinical staff care for more than 2,800 newly diagnosed cancer patients each year through access points in Braselton, Gainesville, Toccoa and Winder.