Dr. Shawn Shrawny and other physicians in offering the best treatment options for patients. Their specialized field allows them to integrate imaging equipment with minimally invasive surgery procedures in order to help treat a patient’s disease or condition. “Anyone from cancer patients, to patients with bad arteries or veins to dialysis patients — we work with almost every type of patient in the hospital or medical system,” explained Dr. Reardon. Dr. Reardon, Dr. Shrawny and Dr. Coursey and their team of providers, nurses and radiology technologists give hope to patients who would otherwise have no treatment options. “Let’s take the liver for example — only about 20 percent of patients with primary liver cancer are surgical candidates. The other 80 percent of patients are outside the criteria for surgery for one reason or another.” said Dr. Reardon, “If a patient can get a tumor cut out, they are in the 20 percent — that is the optimal therapy. But the majority of patients aren’t in that category and that’s where we come in.”
The team of interventional radiologists at Essentia HealthFargo are able to heat and freeze tumors when necessary. This type of treatment is a subspecialty called interventional oncology. “In many cases, interventional oncology procedures can be used to either completely destroy tumors, downstage them, or to control the disease,” explained Dr. Coursey. “Through these therapies, we are able to improve a cancer patient’s quality of life and in many circumstances improve their overall survival.” Unlike conventional chemotherapy treatment, which is given through an IV, interventional radiologists are able to administer lethal doses of treatment directly into the tumor. “We put a probe through the skin directly into the tumor and watch exactly where we’re going with whatever radiology equipment we need to use to see,” said Dr. Reardon. “Then we are able to burn, freeze or microwave the tumor.”
Photos by Alison Smith Stride • September 2013
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