Cancer/Oncology

MCR is proud to offer interventional radiology (IR) treatments for cancer patients looking to avoid surgery, either for those whose cancer has not responded to treatment or who simply do not want surgery. MCR often uses IR treatments alongside traditional medical and surgical cancer treatments. Other uses of interventional radiology in cancer/oncology care include diagnosing cancer through methods such as image-guided biopsy, placing ports in the chest, for those receiving regular chemotherapy infusions, or draining fluid from the abdomen or the chest.

Interventional radiology combines advanced medical imaging and cutting-edge minimally invasive techniques to treat cancer/oncology. At MCR, your interventional radiologist collaborates with you and your oncology team to ensure you receive the best cancer/oncology care. The most common cancers IR treats through image-guided techniques are lung, liver, kidney and bone cancers. As an added benefit, many of these are performed as outpatient procedures, meaning you get to go home that same day.

MCR is dedicated to working with cancer patients and their medical care teams to help accurately and effectively diagnose and treat cancer. We offer the following high quality interventional radiology (IR) treatments for cancer/oncology:

Chemoembolization is a minimally invasive cancer treatment. Performed using image guidance, the IR delivers a chemotherapy agent and a blood vessel blocking agent (embolic) through the blood vessel supplying the tumor to stop its blood supply, delivering a potent amount of chemotherapy drugs to the tumor. This procedure is mostly used for the treatment of cancers that develop in or spread to the liver.

Also called selective internal radiation therapy (SIRT) or Y-90 due to the radioactive isotope used, radioembolization (selective internal radiation therapy, SIRT or Y-90) destroys cancer in the liver. To perform radioembolization, our team first inserts a tube called a catheter into an artery either the wrist or the groin. Through the use of X-rays, our expert interventional radiologist guides the catheter into place. Once it reaches the tumor, the interventional radiologist will inject radiation into the tumor’s blood vessels. MCR offers therapy with both SIR-Spheres and TheraSphere.

Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is used to treat kidney, lung and liver cancer and destroys cancerous tissue through the use of heated radio waves. Our interventional radiologist places a small probe through a small nick in the skin through which the radio waves are transmitted through electrical currents.

Microwave ablation kills cancer cells by heating up the skin through microwaves, which are placed in a targeted area through a probe in the skin. Typically, microwave ablation is used to treat liver, lung or kidney cancers.

Cryoablation uses extreme cold to destroy tumor cells. First, our interventional radiologist places a probe into the tissue through a nick in the skin. The tip of the probe will become extremely cold, causing the targeted and surrounding tissues to die. This is commonly used to treat liver, lung or kidney cancers.

Our interventional radiologist places a small implantable port under the skin, allowing for easy access of chemotherapeutic drugs.

MCR’s interventional radiologist will use ultrasound, X-ray or CT (computed tomography) to obtain a small tissue sample, usually through a pin-prick incision. This is often called CT guided biopsy or ultrasound guided biopsy.

Looking for high-quality cancer/oncology treatment right here in Hampton Roads, VA? Guided by imaging techniques, our interventional radiologists deliver minimally invasive, same-day treatments to deliver comfortable, effective medical care to cancer/oncology patients. 

6275 E Virginia Beach Blvd, Suite 300, Norfolk, Virginia 23502

 (757) 466-0089