The radiology team is led by one or more radiologists. Radiologists are responsible for interpreting the results of exams, performing certain procedures, conferring and consulting with other physicians in other specialties, and ensuring the overall quality performance of the entire team.
...more
Radiology has become highly specialized, as have most other medical and surgical specialties. The current trend is for radiologists to become specialized in a particular discipline, such as cardiology (the study and treatment of the heart) or neurology (the study and treatment of the brain and nervous system).
...more
Nuclear medicine is a specialized area of radiology. It uses very small amounts of radioactive materials to examine organ function and structure. This branch of radiology is often used to help diagnose and treat abnormalities very early in the progression of a disease, such as thyroid cancer.
...more
External beam therapy is a type of therapeutic radiology that is delivered externally from a machine directed to the cancer inside the patient. Examples of external beam therapy machines include linear accelerators, cobalt machines, or orthovoltage X-ray machines.
...more
Brachytherapy is radiation treatment that is given inside the patient, as close to the cancer as possible. The radiation is delivered to the body site with radioactive isotopes inside wires, seeds, or rods. These devices are called implants.
...more
Radiosurgery uses focused beams of radiation to treat cancerous tissues without a surgical incision or opening. The treatment is called "surgery" because creates a result similar to an actual surgical procedure.
...more
One newer therapy combines radiation and chemotherapy, because in some cases, radiation may improve the effects of chemotherapy, and vice versa. Another therapy uses external beam radiation during surgery to treat cancerous tumors or certain other forms of cancer.
...more
Questions to ask your doctor if you are having radiation therapy.
...more
Detailed information on radiation therapy, one type of cancer treatment.
...more