Ballad Health Launches GammaTile Brain Cancer Therapy, Cutting Radiation Delay by Up to 6 Weeks
Updated
Updated · Elizabethton Star · Jul 22
Ballad Health Launches GammaTile Brain Cancer Therapy, Cutting Radiation Delay by Up to 6 Weeks
1 articles · Updated · Elizabethton Star · Jul 22
Summary
Johnson City Medical Center has started offering GammaTile, a postage-stamp-sized implant that delivers radiation immediately after brain tumor removal for certain patients.
Up to 6 weeks can pass before traditional radiation begins after surgery; doctors said that gap can let remaining cancer cells grow, while GammaTile starts treatment at once and may lower recurrence risk.
Several weeks of radiation are delivered directly into the surgical cavity, limiting exposure to healthy brain tissue and potentially reducing side effects such as hair loss.
Ballad Health said the addition expands advanced cancer care in the Appalachian Highlands, aiming to keep more patients in the region instead of sending them elsewhere for treatment.