Hearing the words 'you have cancer' can be devastating and the treatment options overwhelming. The disease may affect the emotional health of those diagnosed, their family members and caregivers, along with relationships and the ability to work. The good news is that innovations in cancer treatment are making it possible for people who are diagnosed with the disease to live longer, better lives.

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One treatment option is radiotherapy, also called radiation therapy, which uses different types of high-energy radiation to damage or kill cancer cells so they can’t reproduce, making it an innovative, life-saving tool in the treatment of cancer. Approximately 50% of all cancer patients need radiotherapy at least once to cure their cancer, increase the chance of cure or relieve symptoms caused by cancer.

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Accuray was founded on the belief that with the right technology, physicians would truly be able to improve the treatment of cancer. Working together, Accuray and healthcare professionals are advancing patient care: during each individual treatment, throughout the treatment process, and at each stage of the cancer treatment journey, from curative treatment to oligometastases and palliative cases.

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Accuray manufactures and markets the TomoTherapy^® platform and next-generation Radixact^® System, as well as the CyberKnife^® System, medical devices used worldwide for delivering extremely precise and accurate radiation treatments. A proprietary software technology tracks, detects and automatically adapts the radiation beam for tumor movement throughout the treatment session, helping to ensure that the radiation beam remains on target even when treating tumors that move, such as prostate or lung tumors.

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The CyberKnife System is the only radiation delivery system that features a linear accelerator (linac) directly mounted on a robot to deliver the high-energy x-rays or photons used in radiation therapy. The system specializes in delivering stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) and stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) treatments with sub-millimeter accuracy. SBRT and SRS use advanced techniques to deliver ultra-hypofractionated radiation therapy — very high doses of radiation administered over one to several days. This is a much shorter time period than conventional radiation therapy, which typically involves the delivery of small doses of radiation over 6-8 weeks.

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Likewise, the TomoTherapy and Radixact Systems are the first and only radiation therapy device to integrate daily CT imaging into the treatment process for enhanced accuracy, and to deliver radiation from 360 degrees around the patient's body. The integrated imaging and advanced dose-delivery capabilities enable efficient delivery of the precise radiation treatments to patients with a wide range of cancers. Building on the game-changing TomoTherapy platform, the Radixact System is designed to more efficiently and effectively deliver precision radiation treatments to more patients.

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While cancer continues to be a major worldwide health concern, it is important to remember how far industry, academia and medical care teams have come in their quest to improve cancer patients’ outcomes. The Accuray team is proud to be a part of this patient-first community and is relentlessly focused on innovation that makes the impossible, possible, for those diagnosed with cancer.