• Radiation Oncology  In radiation oncology (also called radiotherapy), high-energy rays are used to damage cancer cells and stop them from growing and dividing. Like surgery, radiation therapy is local therapy; it can affect cancer cells only in the treated area. Radiation may come from a machine (external radiation). It also may come from an implant (a small container of radioactive material) placed directly into or near the tumor (internal radiation). Some patients receive both kinds of radiation therapy.

External radiation therapy is usually given on an outpatient basis in a hospital or clinic 5 days a week for several weeks. Patients are not radioactive during or after the treatment.

For internal radiation therapy, the patient stays in the hospital for a few days. The implant may be temporary or permanent. Because the level of radiation is highest during the hospital stay, patients may not be able to have visitors or may have visitors only for a short time. Once an implant is removed, there is no radioactivity in the body. The amount of radiation in a permanent implant goes down to a safe level before the patient leaves the hospital.

With radiation therapy, the side effects depend on the treatment dose and the part of the body that is treated. The most common side effects are tiredness, skin reactions (such as a rash or redness) in the treated areas, and loss of appetite. Radiation therapy also may cause a decrease in the number of white blood cells, cells that help protect the body against infection. Although the side effects of radiation therapy can be unpleasant, the doctor can usually treat or control them. It also helps to know that, in most cases, they are not permanent.

• Medical Oncology  The treatment of cancer using medical treatment which includes drugs and hormones.

• Interventional Radiology, one of the most complex and patient-care oriented fields in radiology, is a medical specialty that uses image-guided, minimally invasive diagnostic and treatment techniques that are often an alternative to surgery. Interventional radiologists are highly trained in imaging, radiation safety, the performance of medical procedures, and patient management, an integral part of their practice.

Interventional radiologists treat diseases nonoperatively, often using small catheters or other devices and tools guided by radiologic imaging. Procedures performed by interventional radiologists are generally less costly and are less traumatic to the patient, involving smaller incisions, less pain, and shorter hospital stays.

• Immuno Therapy  Treatment to stimulate or restore the ability of the immune system to fight infection and disease. Also used to lessen side effects that may be caused by some cancer treatments. Also called immunotherapy or biological response modifier (BRM) therapy.  The side effects of biological therapy depend on the type of treatment. Often, these treatments cause flu-like symptoms such as chills, fever, muscle aches, weakness, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Some patients get a rash, and some bleed or bruise easily. In addition, interleukin therapy can cause swelling. Depending on how severe these problems are, patients may need to stay in the hospital during treatment. These side effects are usually short-term and gradually go away after treatment stops.

• Diagnostic Radiology  The process of using ionizing and nonionizing radiation through modalities such as general radiography, nuclear medicine, radiation therapy, mammography, cardiovascular-intervention, computer tomography, magnetic resonance imaging and sonography to diagnose a patient's condition.

• Radionuclide Therapy  In radionuclide scanning, the patient swallows or is given an injection of a mildly radioactive substance. A machine (scanner) measures radioactivity levels in certain organs and prints a picture on paper or film. By looking at the amount of radioactivity in the organs, the doctor can find abnormal areas.

• CT Scan-Based Treatment Planning   Images of areas inside the body help the doctor tell whether a tumor is present. These images can be made in several ways. In many cases, the doctor uses a special dye so that certain organs show up better on film. The dye may be swallowed or put into the body through a needle or a tube.

X-rays are the most common way doctors make pictures of the inside of the body. In a special kind of x-ray imaging, a CT or CAT scan uses a computer linked to an x-ray machine to make a series of detailed pictures.

• External Beam Electron Therapy   A form of radiation therapy in which the radiation is delivered by a machine pointed at the area to be radiated

• Prostate Radiation Seed Therapy  This form of internal radiation therapy incorporates the technique of implanting seeds directly into the prostate via a container or applicator of radioactive material.  The dose and length of time the seeds stay in place are dependent on where the cancer is located, patient's general health and previous cancer treatments.

• Bone Marrow Evaluation  A series of tests to determine if transplantation is viable.  The transplant is a procedure to replace bone marrow destroyed by treatment with high doses of anticancer drugs or radiation.  Transplantation may be autologous (the person's marrow saved before treatment), allogenic (marrow donated by someone else), or syngeneic (marrow donated by an identical twin).

• Breast Conservation Therapy  A plastic surgeon will carefully examine the breasts and discuss the appropriate types of reconstruction.  In one type of reconstruction procedure, the surgeon inserts an implant under the skin and the chest muscles.  Another procedure creates the shape of a breast using skin, fat & muscle from the woman's abdomen or back.  After both types of reconstruction surgery, the surgeon will discuss any limitations on exercise or arm motion.  Women who have reconstructive surgery will be followed carefully in the postoperative period to detect and treat complications, such as infection, movement of the implant, or contracture (the formation of a firm, fibrous shell around the implant caused by the body's reaction to it).  Routine screening for breast cancer is also part of the postoperative follow-up because the risk of cancer cannot be completely eliminated.   When women with breast implants have mammograms, they should tell the radiology technician about the implant.  Special procedures may be necessary to improve the accuracy of the mammogram.

• Cancer Risk Assessment  Assessing your risk for cancer through various screenings and evaluation.

• Brachytherapy  the implantation of radioactive seeds or pellets which emit low energy radiation in order to kill surrounding tissue (e.g., the prostate, including prostate cancer cells)

• Hematology  A branch of biology that deals with the blood and blood-forming organs.

• Fluoroscopy   Modern x-ray fluoroscopy provides quantum-limited, high-definition, digital TV viewing of structures inside the body. It makes possible many minimally invasive treatments such as balloon angioplasty, neuroembolizations, and transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunts (TIPS).

• Chemotherapy  Treatment with drugs to kill cancer cells is called chemotherapy. Most anticancer drugs are injected into a vein (IV) or a muscle; some are given by mouth. Chemotherapy is systemic treatment, meaning that the drugs flow through the bloodstream to nearly every part of the body.

Often, patients who need many doses of IV chemotherapy receive the drugs through a catheter (a thin flexible tube). One end of the catheter is placed in a large vein in the chest. The other end is outside the body or attached to a small device just under the skin. Anticancer drugs are given through the catheter. This can make chemotherapy more comfortable for the patient. Patients and their families are shown how to care for the catheter and keep it clean. For some types of cancer, physicians are studying the advantages of giving anticancer drugs directly to the affected area.

Chemotherapy is generally given in cycles: A treatment period is followed by a recovery period, then another treatment period, and so on. Usually a patient has chemotherapy as an outpatient--at the hospital, at the doctor's office, or at home. However, depending on which drugs are given and the patient's general health, the patient may need to stay in the hospital for a short time.

The side effects of chemotherapy depend mainly on the drugs and the doses the patient receives. Generally, anticancer drugs affect cells that divide rapidly. These include blood cells, which fight infection, help the blood to clot, or carry oxygen to all parts of the body. When blood cells are affected by anticancer drugs, patients are more likely to get infections, may bruise or bleed easily, and may have less energy. Cells that line the digestive tract also divide rapidly. As a result of chemotherapy, patients may have side effects, such as loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting, hair loss, or mouth sores. For some patients, the physician may prescribe medicine to help with side effects, especially with nausea and vomiting. Usually, these side effects gradually go away during the recovery period or after treatment stops.

Hair loss, another side effect of chemotherapy, is a major concern for many patients. Some chemotherapy drugs only cause the hair to thin out, while others may result in the loss of all body hair. Patients may feel better if they decide how to handle hair loss before starting treatment.

In some men and women, chemotherapy drugs cause changes that may result in a loss of fertility (the ability to have children). Loss of fertility may be temporary or permanent depending on the drugs used and the patient's age. For men, sperm banking before treatment may be a choice. Women's menstrual periods may stop, and they may have hot flashes and vaginal dryness. Periods are more likely to return in young women.

• Clinical Laboratory  Although no single test can be used to diagnose cancer, laboratory tests such as blood and urine tests give the physician important information. If cancer is present, lab work may show the effects of the disease on the body. In some cases, special tests are used to measure the amount of certain substances in the blood, urine, other body fluids, or tumor tissue. The levels of these substances may become abnormal when certain kinds of cancer are present.

• Cancer Screenings  Sometimes, cancer can be found before the disease causes symptoms. Checking for cancer (or for conditions that may lead to cancer) in a person who does not have any symptoms of the disease is called screening.

Screening may involve a physical exam, lab tests, and/or procedures to look at internal organs, either directly or indirectly. During a physical exam, the physician looks for anything unusual and feels for any lumps or growths. Examples of lab tests include blood and urine tests, the Pap test (microscopic examination of cells collected from the cervix), and the fecal occult blood test (to check for hidden blood in stool). Internal organs can be seen directly through a thin lighted tube (such as a sigmoidoscope, which lets the doctor see the rectum and the lower part of the colon) or indirectly with x-ray images (such as mammograms to check the breasts).

Physicians consider many factors before recommending a screening test. They weigh factors related to the individual, the test, and the cancer that the test is intended to detect. For example, physicians take into account the person's age, medical history and general health, family history, and lifestyle. In addition, they assess the accuracy and the risks of the screening test and any follow-up tests that may be necessary. Physicians also consider the effectiveness and side effects of the treatment that will be needed if cancer is found.

• Three-Dimensional Radiation Treatment Planning  Radiation therapy has been used to treat cancer since the turn of the century. Technological advances since that time have brought about higher energy x-rays, skin sparing radiation, new isotopes for radioactive implants and recently the ability to image and treat tumors in a three-dimensional conformal fashion. The range of tumors that can benefit from conformal therapy include tumors of the brain, the head and neck, the lung, the abdomen and pelvis, as well as soft tissue tumors of the muscles and extremities.

In the past, the standard radiation therapy simulation took approximately an hour to an hour and a half, and required the patient to stay still for that period of time. Plain x-rays and fluoroscopy were performed to localize the radiation treatment fields and mark the patient. This was often tedious and uncomfortable for the patients, who were required to lie in special positions. Now, with conformal therapy, radiation treatment planning takes place in a matter of minutes and the patient receives a reduced radiation dose resulting in tighter radiation fields. Patients undergoing a combination of chemotherapy and radiation therapy are expected to have significantly fewer side effects.

Using these scans, physicians are able to reconstruct in three-dimensional space, tumor volumes, critical normal tissues and the relations to the tumor volume, as well as the bones and other organs.