Lafayette General Medical Center Offering Latest Treatment for Liver Cancer

Lafayette General Medical Center (LGMC) is now offering an innovative treatment for liver cancer from an additional resource you wouldn’t normally associate with cancer. Interventional Radiologist William Mullen, M.D., provides TheraSphere® Treatment, one of the more advanced procedures available anywhere in the fight against liver cancer.

This is a breakthrough technique, particularly for liver cancer patients who might not currently qualify for transplants or partial liver removal (resection). TheraSphere can make transplants or resection possible by shrinking or restricting the diseased area while preserving healthy portions of the liver.

Known as radioembolization, ThereSphere consists of injecting millions of tiny radioactive glass beads to target cancer in the liver. It is referred to as a Y-90 procedure for using yttrium-90, a radioactive substance that destroys tumor cells. By inserting miniscule, low toxicity Y-90 beads (one-third smaller than the diameter of a human hair) into blood vessels feeding the liver, radiation can be directed at any diseased portion of the liver. Because the radiation only travels about 2 cm away from the beads, healthy liver and other nearby tissues are spared.

The TheraSphere beads are also non-embolic, which means they don’t block blood vessels, which would also cause tissue damage. The beads will emit radiation over the course of several weeks before decreasing to insignificant levels.
This is typically an outpatient procedure performed in the Radiology Department at LGMC. Side effects are normally milder than other liver cancer treatments.

“We now have a very advanced treatment available here in Lafayette,” says Dr. Mullen. “This is a nice tool that our radiology department can offer to surgeons and oncologists in pursuit of treatment,” he says.

TheraSphere at LGMC is offered through referrals to Dr. Mullen. Check with your physician to see if you or someone you know qualifies for this treatment. To reach the Radiology Department at LGMC, call (337) 289-7970.