For appointments & directions:
Don and Ruth Temple Family Cancer Center
at Community Hospital Long Beach
The Don and Ruth Temple Family Cancer Center, opened in 1996, is a state-of-the-art treatment center located across the street from the hospital. Its friendly neighborhood setting with private parking just steps from its front door enables patients to avoid stairs and bypass busy hospital hallways.
Experienced, Caring Staff
Physicians specially trained in radiation oncology are supported by a committed multidisciplinary team, including a physicist, radiation therapist and a medical dosimetrist who work together to ensure patients receive optimal care in a supportive and friendly environment. The team works closely with patients' regular physicians to keep them informed.
State-Of-The-Art Technology
Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) treatment planning software provides the ability to deliver a more precise radiation dose directly to the cancer while minimizing damage to the surrounding healthy tissue. IMRT can be used to treat tumors that might have been considered untreatable in the past due to close proximity of vital organs and structures. IMRT is being used to treat tumors in the brain, breast, head and neck, spine, chest, liver, lung, nasopharynx, prostate, uterus, pancreas and other upper abdominal sites.The Varian 2300 C/D Linear Accelerator, the machine that delivers the radiation treatment, is one of the most advanced and powerful linear accelerators available. It has a dynamic wedge, multi-leaf collimator, portal vision, six electron energies and two powerful photon energies.
Prostate Cancer
A Varian Sonarray system is used in patients with prostate cancer to localize the prostate gland before each daily treatment. Sonarray uses Ultrasound instead of X-rays, further decreasing X-ray exposure to normal tissues.
Brain Tumors
The Cancer Center at Community Hospital Long Beach also offers stereotactic radiosurgery for brain tumors. Used in selected cases, stereotactic radiosurgery can destroy a tumor within the brain without having to do brain surgery. Today's radiation therapy is a highly accurate way to cure cancer with minimal side effects.
X-Ray Therapy
The Cancer Center also has one of the most penetrating and highest energy X-ray beams available in the area. This is especially valuable in treating tumors deep in the body.
