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What Is Radiation Oncology And Its History?
Radiation oncology is a medical specialty that treats cancer with radiation, and it is one of the three fundamental specialties of modern cancer therapy.
Over the past 10 years, major technological advances in Imaging, Computing, and Engineering have led to new leaps in the field of radiation oncology. Today, radiosurgery can treat tumours in a precise, non-invasive manner.
Radiation therapy uses regulated doses of high-energy radiation targeted at genetic material within cancer cells. This kills some cancer cells immediately after treatment. The surviving cancer cells die once the radiation damages cells so that they can no longer divide, which stops the growth of the tumour.
For more information, see:
• What is Radiotherapy?
• Aims of Radiotherapy Treatment
What Is Radiation Oncologist?
A radiation oncologist is a specialist who uses radiation therapy to treat a wide variety of cancer types. Each specialist undergoes a rigorous training program focusing on clinical radiation oncology, as well as the natural history of cancer, radiobiology, medical physics and radiation safety.
Radiation oncologists treat patients with various tools and systems. This requires them to prescribe a safe course of radiotherapy with appropriate methods and delivery equipment, and to manage its effects throughout and after the treatment process.
What Is The Radiotherapy Process?
The radiotherapy process involves a number of complex steps, and your oncologist may recommend different procedures or sequences. The process will usually include the following:
- Patient evaluation
- Preparing for treatment
- Clinical treatment planning
- Therapeutic simulation and development of dose distribution
- Pre-treatment QA
- Radiation treatment delivery
- Radiation treatment management
- Follow-up care management
The radiation oncologist leads the clinical team in providing the best possible treatment and aftercare for the patient.
For more information, see:
• What is Radiotherapy?
• Aims of Radiotherapy Treatment
Why Makes A Quality Radiotherapy Plan So Important?
Ionizing radiation is a powerful yet potentially dangerous tool for cancer treatment. Once delivered and absorbed by the human body, its effects are irreversible. If not done with a high level of accuracy and precision, it could lead to adverse effects, with serious implications for the patient.
As such, the radiotherapy treatment process is a complex one. Successful treatment delivery involves exchanges of information between different professional groups across vast networks.
Are all Radiotherapy Treatments the same?
The challenge of every radiotherapy treatment is to achieve an adequate, appropriate treatment while minimizing normal organs’ exposure to radiation.
This is achieved by utilizing advanced radiotherapy equipment capable of shaping and delivering accurate and precise radiation beams to the target area. The quality of the radiotherapy plan depends on the expertise and meticulousness of the radiation oncologist, who works with physicists and dosimetrists, to create the optimal dose plan.
While people talk about receiving radiotherapy treatment in the same area, outcomes can differ depending on the delivery equipment used, the radiotherapy techniques employed and most importantly, the patient’s unique radiotherapy plan.
