Treatment Team

Radiation Oncologist

Radiation oncologists are the doctors who will oversee your radiation therapy treatments. These doctors have extensive training in how to safely prescribe and deliver radiation therapy for the treatment of cancer and other medical conditions. As part of their training, they have become experts in also managing side effects related to treatment. To become a radiation oncologist, one must complete college and medical school followed by an additional 5 years of training to specialize in radiation oncology. After their training, Radiation Oncologists become certified through the American Board of Radiology.

These doctors lead the radiation oncology team by working with the other members to develop your treatment plan and ensure that each treatment is given safely and accurately. Your radiation oncologist will also monitor your progress and adjust the treatment as necessary to make sure the radiation is hitting its target while minimizing side effects. To make the most accurate assessments, your radiation oncologist will meet with you during your consultation, at the time of your radiation planning, and weekly during your radiation treatment course. Please direct any questions you may have regarding your radiation plan to your radiation oncologist.

Before, during and after your radiation therapy treatments, your radiation oncologist also works closely with other cancer doctors, including your medical oncologist and breast surgeon. This allows your doctor to maximize the effectiveness of your radiation treatment plan.

Radiation Therapist

Radiation therapists are the team members that work under the supervision of radiation oncologists to administer your daily radiation treatments. Radiation therapists will also work under your radiation oncologists’ direction to perform your initial planning session, the first step in designing your radiation plan. To become a radiation therapist, one must complete a two- to four-year educational program following high school or college. By passing a special examination, radiation therapists may be certified by the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists.

Radiation Oncology Nurses

Radiation oncology nurses work with every member of the treatment team to improve the care delivered to every patient and their families. All radiation oncology nurses obtain a degree from a two- and four-year degree program that allows them to practice nursing. Radiation oncology nurses may also obtain additional certifications in oncology care and these nurses hold the OCN (Oncology Certified Nurse) designation.

Radiation oncology nurses have specific training and skills that allow them to care for you and assist your family throughout your treatment journey. Their primary roles are often related to making patient assessments, providing patient education, and managing treatment related symptoms. As such, they can explain to you the possible side effects you may experience with radiation therapy and describe how you can manage them. They may also be able to connect you with the various resources available to patients, including social workers and psychosocial support services. During your treatment course, you will be coming in for radiation therapy sessions frequently, and your radiation oncology nurses may perform these assessments often to make sure you are staying on course.

Some clinics also have advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) or clinical nurse specialists, who have obtained additional master’s degree level nursing training and may perform specific additional functions.

Medical Physicist

Medical physicists work directly with the radiation oncologist during treatment planning and delivery to ensure the technical aspects of the radiation treatment are complete safely and accurately. After completing college, Medical Physicists obtain a graduate degree in medical physics, physics or engineering. Medical physicists must also complete a multi-year residency in an accredited residency program, which allows them to become board certification by the American Board of Radiology.

Medical physicists work behind the scenes to make sure that the technical aspects of radiation treatments stay at the highest quality. Given their background, they are the most qualified team members in understanding how the machines in radiation oncology work and oversee their maintenance and, when necessary, repair. They also oversee the work of the medical dosimetrists by making sure the radiation plans that are developed can be delivered safely and accurately by the radiation machines while being optimized for the patient. They oversee the radiation simulation process to ensure the patient’s position is captured accurately for future radiation planning. They often manage any special procedures that require special attention, including stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT), high-dose rate (HDR) and low-dose rate (LDR) brachytherapy treatments, and intraoperative radiation therapy (IORT). Finally, Medical physicists are responsible for developing and directing quality control programs and ensuring safe and precise treatment deliveries while ensuring the equipment and procedures are in compliance with state and federal regulations and meet up to date standards.

Dosimetrist

Dosimetrists work with the radiation oncologist and medical physicist to develop a radiation treatment plan that best destroys the tumor while sparing healthy tissue. Many radiation dosimetrists start their training by completing the requirements to become a radiation therapist then go on to receive additional training in medical dosimetry. Next, all dosimetrists undergo specific training lasting one to two years, making them eligible to be certified by the Medical Dosimetrist Certification board.

Medical Dosimetrists are experts in designing radiation plans that meet the specifications outline by the Radiation Oncologist. They also work closely with Medical Physics to optimize the way the radiation passes through the body and perform checks to make sure the computer systems are calculating the radiation distribution accurately. They also work with Radiation Therapists to deliver the radiation as accurately as possible, keeping the individual patient in mind.

Reception/Front Desk Staff

Members of the reception/front desk staff are an important part of the team. They will greet you daily, assist you in checking in and notifying the other oncology team members that the patient has arrived, and provide you with any necessary forms you may need to complete to complete your visit. They may also help schedule your appointments and direct any inquiries or requests to the appropriate radiation oncology team member.

Medical Assistants

Medical Assistants are medical professionals that help support the work of radiation oncologists, radiation oncology nurses, and radiation therapists. To provide support, many medical assistants perform many of the routine tasks and procedures in a medical clinic, including preparing a room for use and stocking medical supplies, bringing a patient from the waiting room to the clinic, and obtaining vital signs. The role of medical assistants is often flexible and depends heavily on the needs of the specific clinic. If you are unsure, please ask your radiation oncology team about how their medical assistant will play a role in your care.

Social Workers

Oncology social workers are healthcare professionals that specialize in providing supportive care services to oncology patients and their family members. Due to their specialized training, they can provide counseling to help you and your family cope with the diagnosis of cancer and with your treatment and may lead or identify relevant patient or caregiver support groups. They may also help arrange supportive services such as healthcare, transportation, financial support, emotional support and other services.

Physical / Occupational Therapists

Physical therapists perform comprehensive assessments about a patient’s baseline and/or post treatment physical function, identify areas for improvement, and use exercises programs to optimize the body’s functions. Common conditions that are addressed with physical therapy include managing a patients functional status, improving mobility, decreasing fatigue, and managing treatment related adverse effects including pain.

Patient Navigators

Within oncology, patient navigators are team members that help connect patients with the resources they need to overcome any potential issues that prevent patients from having a successful course of treatment. Patient navigators are utilized differently by different oncology programs to help their patients most effectively. As such, patient navigators may have different titles and roles depending on how they are utilized, and may be cancer site-specific or work with patients with many different types of cancer. The most common patient navigators include oncology nurse navigators, oncology social work navigators, and oncology patient navigators.

• Oncology Nurse Navigators: these are navigators with nursing credentials who are knowledgeable about cancer care. They are typically used to help coordinate a patient's care between multiple departments and serve as a point of contact regarding questions or issues arising during their cancer treatments.

• Oncology Social Work Navigators: these navigators have a background in social work but also have additional expertise in understanding social and mental health related issues. In addition to helping to connect patients with the medical team, oncology social work navigators also help identify a patient’s or family’s social and emotional needs and helps to connect those in need with available resources.

• Oncology Patient Navigators: these navigators come from various backgrounds but have the same goal of connecting patients with the resources they need.

Multidisciplinary Tumor board

A tumor board is a meeting where a multidisciplinary team of oncology experts meet to review the clinical course and provide treatment recommendations regarding mutual patients. Tumor boards are considered multidisciplinary because oncology specialists from different medical backgrounds have the opportunity to meet, allowing the entire team to provide their input from their area of expertise.

Learn more about tumor boards.