Radiation Oncology -- 718.780.3677

Accredited by the American College of Radiology, New York Methodist is a regional radiation oncology center that offers patients a full range of radiation therapy procedures.  Advantages enjoyed by the hospital include:

• Advanced equipment
• Radiation oncologists are board certified by the American College of Radiology
• Board certified radiation physicists
• Radiation therapists are certified by ARRT (American Registry of Radiologic Technologists)
• Oncology nurses
• Strong support system of nutritionists, psychologists and spiritual leaders
• Multi-disciplinary approach – surgeons, medical oncologists, gynecological oncologists, urologists, neuro-oncologists and neurosurgeons

There are various techniques used to provide treatment. They are:

• Conventional external beam irradiation
• Conformal high tech external beam irradiation
• IMRT 
• Brachytherapy
• Multiple Daily Fractions, called “hyper-fractionation” – radiation therapy provided in multiple doses during one day
• Chemoradiation – combination of radiation therapy and chemotherapy
• Hyperthermia – a treatment technique using heat, in conjunction with brachytherapy, to kill cancer cells
• Stereotactic radiosurgery
• Stereotactic radiotherapy -- a non-invasive brain surgery technique where radiation is given in smaller, cumulative doses over a period of several days
• Cryoablation - procedure by which a tumor is frozen by placing probes that create an "iceball" effect in cancerous tissue. This is a minimally invasive procedure that may shrink or kill the tumor.
• Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) - a treatment that uses electrodes to transmit electrical energy into the tumor to heat and destroy the cancerous tissue. This is a minimally invasive procedure which is often given in combination with another therapy such as chemotherapy or radiation therapy.
• Mammosite – for breast cancer
• High dose radiation (HDR) interstitial and intracavitary therapy – for difficult and recurrent malignancies. Interstitial means placing a radioactive source inside a tumor (e.g. breast cancer). Intracavitary means placing a radioactive source in a body cavity (e.g. cervical cancer)
• Intracavitary insertions – for gynecological cancers
• Placement of radioactive seeds in the cancer (e.g. prostate cancer) 

Patients undergoing radiation therapy are generally referred to the Department of Radiation Oncology at the Hospital for evaluation. Most external irradiation is delivered five days a week for about four to eight weeks.  During this period, patients receive information and education about their disease and may also participate in support groups with others who are receiving similar therapies.

For more information, please call 718.780.3677.

Radiation Oncology Techs Jacqueline Fede, Pamela Ross, Thein Tun and Joshua Smilow