The radiation oncologist on staff at the Tammy Walker Cancer Center is Dr. Claudia Perez-Tamayo who manages radiation treatments for patients.

The Radiation Oncology Department has earned the reputation of offering technology normally available only in large, research medical centers. In 1993, the Radiation Oncology Department was distinguished as the first in the state to offer "conformal three-dimensional" treatment planning. Conformal radiation therapy allows the radiation oncologist to identify and treat the entire tumor, while reducing or eliminating radiation to the surrounding healthy tissue. This technology increases cancer cure rates and decreases radiation side effects.

In August 1998, the Radiation Oncology Department received accreditation from the American College of Radiology (ACR) for its high practice standards. It was the first Radiation Oncology Department in the state to achieve this standing.

The Radiation Oncology Department continues to expand in the latest techniques such as intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) which began November 2002.

National protocols from places such as M.D. Anderson and Mayo Clinic are also available.

The Tammy Walker Cancer Center provides a team approach to cancer care that combines professional expertise, state-of-the-art technology and a warm, personal touch. Each person's cancer team includes the patient's primary care (family) physician, board-certified radiation and medical oncologists, oncology nurses, radiation therapists, dietitians and social workers. These professionals work closely with a patient’s primary care physician to provide coordinated patient care. For some, this care may also include chemotherapy (drugs that enter the blood stream to kill cancer cells), hormonal therapy (the manipulation of hormone levels to suppress tumor growth and immunotherapy (biological response modifiers that stimulate the body’s own defense mechanism to combat cancer). In addition, physicians and other health care professionals meet for Cancer Conference twice a month to discuss cancer cases.

Radiation  therapy is the use of a high-energy radiation beam to treat cancer.  Radiation therapy is given by a machine called a linear accelerator, which produces high-energy x-rays directed at the cancer in the body.  This beam has no mass; it is a form of "light."  It only affects the area that is treated and does not travel to other pars of your body.  The Radiation Oncologist carefully tailors the radiation beam to the area of treatment delivering high doses to the tumor and excluding normal structures.  Normally, a patient is treated once a day, 5 days a week, for 6 to 8 weeks.

A modern, digital medical
linear accelerator for delivering IMRT (intensity modulated radiation therapy) and other forms of radiation therapy.
(Image courtesy of Varian)

Inside a medical linear accelerator. The radiation beam passes through and is shaped by a device called a multileaf collimator so that it conforms to the shape of
the tumor.
(Image courtesy of Varian)

Most cancers are inside the body. A regular X-ray film normally cannot show the full extent of the cancer. A computerized 3-D treatment planning system has the ability to produce 3-D "beams-eye-view" (BEV) projections that show the entire shape of the tumor from the perspective of the beam of radiation. This assures that the beam of radiation is treating the entire tumor and not missing any part of the cancer. Although the use of BEV requires much technical expertise, most cancer patients will benefit from the use of this mode of treatment. Advanced radiation therapy departments use this technology routinely.

Software allows detailed visualization of patients' anatomy in three dimensions.
(Image courtesy of Varian)

To view a slide demonstration on how the IMRT works, click here.