Patient & Family Information
A cancer patient's overall program of therapy may consist of a combination of different treatments (or "modalities," as they are sometimes called). The most commonly used treatment options are radiation, surgery, and chemotherapy. Surgery is generally conducted at a hospital, surgery center, or doctor's office, while chemotherapy may be provided at a hospital, infusion center, or a physician's office. Saint Mary's Radiation Oncology Center specializes in state-of-the-art radiation therapy, in the various forms described below.
If you have been diagnosed with cancer and require radiation therapy, you may be referred to us by your medical oncologist (cancer doctor) or surgeon. A course of treatment at Saint Mary's Radiation Oncology Center can last between two to eight weeks, depending on the condition. Your initial appointment is a consultation with your radiation oncologist, who will review your case, examine you, and discuss treatment options. Your doctor may also present your case to the Saint Mary's Tumor Board, during which physicians of all specialties will discuss your case and recommend the best course of action.
Radiation options include external radiation, where the treatment comes from outside the body from multiple directions and is precisely aimed at the area of treatment, or brachytherapy (internal radiation) where actual radioactive seeds, either temporary or permanent, are placed in the area of treatment. Some patients will have a combination of external radiation and brachytherapy. If external radiation therapy is recommended, you will then be scheduled for a simulation, which consists of two to three planning appointments. Once the planning is completed, you are then ready to begin your daily treatments. Treatments are Monday through Friday, and you will spend approximately twenty to thirty minutes in the department per treatment session. The duration of the treatment course is determined by the type of cancer being treated. For example, prostate irradiation usually lasts eight weeks, while lung and breast irradiation approximately six weeks. If brachytherapy is recommended, this may involve between one to ten procedures.
