Our Expertise
As part of VCU’s leading academic medical center, our multi-disciplinary team works together to give you the most expertise in planning and managing every aspect of your care. Our team has been utilizing stereotactic radiosurgery as a patient treatment since the early 1990’s, and has acquired enormous experience with the technology.
Based on the clinical research conducted within the Massey Cancer Center and the Harold F. Young Neurosurgical Center, the team introduced intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) in the late 1990’s. IMRT is a type of 3-dimensional radiation therapy that uses computer-generated images to show the size and shape of the tumor. Thin beams of radiation of different intensities are aimed at the tumor from many angles. This type of radiation therapy reduces the damage to healthy tissue near the tumor.
In a focused effort to bring even greater precision to treatment process, our specialists are the first in the world to combine two powerful systems: Trilogy™, a premier linear accelerator enhanced with image-guidance capabilities and ExacTrac® X-ray, an advanced positioning system. Together these technologies enable doctors to visualize and target tumors within 0.4 millimeters of accuracy.
The technology improves patient outcomes by enabling doctors to reach more difficult tumors, begin treatment at earlier stages of cancer, and spare more healthy tissue around the tumors. The procedure is non-invasive, is performed on an out-patient basis, and provides a high degree of safety and comfort.
The Trilogy Team
Our team includes 10 physicians, 14 faculty physicists, 8 dosimetrists (they help determine radiation dosages), 25 therapists, 9 medical residents, and 8 post-doctoral fellows. Our extensive nursing team ranges from clinical nurse specialists to RNs to clinical research nurses who coordinate the care of patients participating in clinical trials.
Here are some of the key members of our Trilogy Image-Guided Treatment Center :
William C. Broaddus, MD, PhD, associate professor of neurosurgery. Dr. Broaddus has been a distinguished member of the Harold F. Young Neurosurgical Center since 1992. He earned is undergraduate degree from Cornell University and his MD and PhD at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. He completed his training in neurosurgery at the University of Virginia, where he gained experience with radiosurgery utilizing Gamma Knife technology.
Stan Benedict, PhD, associate professor of radiation oncology and chief of clinical physics. Dr. Benedict received his MS from San Diego State University and his PhD in Biomedical Physics from the University of California at Los Angeles.
Edward Bump, BA, CMD, RT, chief medical dosimetrist, provides expert assistance in managing image acquisition, image fusion and software management for complex treatment planning.
Theodore D. Chung, MD, PhD, associate professor of radiation oncology. Dr. Chung joined the faculty at VCU in 2000. Earlier in his career he was on faculty at the University of Chicago. He earned his undergraduate degree from Cornell University, and his MD and PhD in molecular pharmacology and experimental therapeutics from the University of Maryland School of Medicine. He completed his radiation oncology training at the Johns Hopkins Hospital.
R. Scott Graham, MD, associate professor of neurosurgery. Dr. Graham graduated from The College of William and Mary in 1987 and earned his MD from the VCU School of Medicine in 1992. He completed his training in Neurosurgery at VCU before becoming a distinguished member of the Harold F. Young Neurosurgical Center in 1998.
Sharon B. Wolber, RN, Neurosurgery Liaison and Nurse Coordinator for the VCU Multispecialty Neuro-oncology Service, assists in managing patient scheduling, coordinating patient treatments, and overseeing patient follow-up.
