A multi-million dollar investment is paying off big for cancer patients. Immanuel Cancer Center in Omaha is the first in the region to offer a form of radiation known as TomoTherapy.

In May's Health Check report: what makes the treatment so unique and such a blessing for one woman.

In between bike riding lessons for son Jaden and enjoying a new puppy, Joyce Beaugard deals with the reality of breast cancer. Every day, she comes to Alegent's Immanuel Cancer Center for a unique form of radiation.

Joyce says, "When I found out I had breast cancer, it was the first thing I did -- to learn about cancer treatments, options available."

She chose TomoTherapy.

Traditional radiation is like a flashlight. There are several beams around the body. TomoTherapy is more like an HDTV. Instead of a few beams, there are tens of thousands of pixels. The more pixels of radiation, the better the distribution."

Dr. Joan Kiet says is it the most accurate way to treat cancer and she points to Joyce's daily scans as proof.

Dr. Kiet says, "The red color is exactly where the high-dose radiation was."

It was only on Joyce's chest wall and lymph nodes. Just as important, a blue color reveals what the scattered radiation missed.

Dr. Kiet said, "It's avoiding her lungs. It's avoiding her heart."

That sparing of tissue makes TomoTherapy a possibility for patients running out of options.

Dr. Joan Kiet says, "I had a patient who had a single kidney encased in a tumor. We were able to treat that tumor but not deliver any radiation to that kidney and that would have been impossible with any other form of radiation."

Joyce Beaugard is almost done with treatment but she's not through with TomoTherapy.

She says, "This is such a devastating disease. It affects you mentally, physically, and spiritually -- the whole works. Through my experience, I'd like to pay it forward, help others through their experience."

TomoTherapy is an investment. Alegent spent $3.7 million on the machine alone. It is a limited resource, meaning it isn't used for every type of tumor.