Radiation therapy is a type of cancer treatment that uses beams of intense energy to kill cancer cells and prevent tumor cell growth and division.
Our Capabilities
UC Health is the only healthcare system in Greater Cincinnati to offer every type of radiation therapy treatment available, enabling our clinicians to choose the best treatment type for each patient.
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As a double board-certified team of experts, our promise to you is world-class care delivered with deep compassion. Our experts are physicians and researchers who relentlessly pursue the best and latest treatments for your breast cancer, offering you hope for your diagnosis.
To schedule an appointment, please call the UC Breast Cancer team at 513-585-UCCC.
As the region's most comprehensive brain tumor center for adults, we know that offering hope means delivering leading-edge treatments and world-class care. We understand that each brain tumor is unique to each patient, so we bring together an expert team of physicians across subspecialties to review every case and determine the best course of treatment. Our team is committed to helping you and your family along the way.
To schedule an appointment, please call the UC Health Brain Tumor team at 513-418-2282.
We focus the expertise of the region’s most advanced gastrointestinal cancer team on delivering only the best results. Our nationally recognized cancer subspecialists offer you access to standard therapies as well as the latest treatments and leading-edge clinical trials.
To schedule an appointment, please call the UC Gastrointestinal Cancer team at 513-585-UCCC.
We understand that a cancer diagnosis can be frightening. We are here to offer hope. Our team specializes in delivering innovative and discovery-driven medicine to help you overcome your cancer.
To schedule an appointment, please call the UC Genitourinary Cancer team at 513-585-UCCC.
Our highly trained team of experts have the experience and innovative technologies you need when facing the challenges of gynecologic cancer.
To schedule an appointment, please call the UC Gynecologic Oncology team at 513-585-UCCC.
At the UC Head & Neck Cancer Center, our subspecialists are experts in even the most complex and rarest forms of head and neck cancers. We work together to deliver highly specialized, world-class care.
To schedule an appointment, please call the UC Head & Neck Cancer team at 513-585-UCCC.
We are the region's most advanced lung cancer center, offering you the right treatments delivered with deep compassion. Our highly trained experts collaborate to deliver innovative techniques and therapies tailored to your cancer.
To schedule an appointment, please call the UC Lung Cancer team at 513-585-UCCC.
Answers to Your Radiation Therapy Questions
Radiation therapy, or external beam radiation therapy, is a type of cancer treatment that uses beams of intense energy to kill cancer cells and prevent tumor cell growth and division. It is used to treat many different types of cancers, sometimes in combination with surgery and chemotherapy.
Specialized radiation techniques, like 3-D conformal radiation (3D-CRT), intensity modulated radiation (IMRT), stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS), and proton beam radiation, are used to focus the radiation on the tumor from many different directions while minimizing radiation to the other organs.
Radiation therapy utilizes high-energy X-rays. or charged particles, to damage the DNA of cancer cells, preventing tumor growth and division.
Radiation therapy is a noninvasive form of cancer treatment that is generally well tolerated by most patients. Depending on the cancer diagnosis and the location of the tumor, a radiation oncologist will recommend a daily dose to be administered Monday through Friday, using 3D-CRT, IMRT, SRS or proton treatments.
The first step for patients is a radiation planning scan, also known as a simulation CT scan, usually one to two weeks before starting radiation. The purpose of this CT scan is to make sure your entire body remains in the same position for every treatment, so the radiation is delivered accurately. While you are lying flat, a radiation therapist will make a mask with holes, ensuring that you can breathe and see, that locks into the treatment table to keep your body or head immobilized.
Depending on the complexity of the radiation plan, the actual treatments may last anywhere from 10 to45 minutes per session.
Radiation therapy is a noninvasive, pain-free way to control cancerous tumors while sparing normal tissue from the side effects.
Radiation Therapy is an effective treatment against most types of cancers. This can include primary cancers, or cancers that start in a specific area of the body, and metastatic cancers, or cancers that have spread to other areas of the body. Certain types of radiation therapy will be used depending on the type, location or stage of the cancer diagnosis.
Will radiation therapy hurt? No, radiation therapy is painless and is generally well tolerated by most patients.
Will I be radioactive? No, the radioactivity from the treatment does not stay in your body.
What if I am claustrophobic or have trouble with the mask? There are medications we can provide to help you better tolerate the mask and keep you comfortable.
Before treatment begins, your radiation oncologist will go over your individual care plan and the associated risks. You will then see your radiation oncologist at least once a week during treatment, so they can help manage any acute side effects.
Experience and Expertise
As the region’s only adult academic health system, UC Health has radiation oncologists who are super subspecialists in their respective cancer-related fields of practice.
UC Health is the only healthcare system in Greater Cincinnati to offer every type of radiation therapy available, which enables our clinicians to choose the very best type of treatment for each individual patient.
Receiving cancer care at an academic health system like UC Health provides patients with increased access to some of the latest clinical trials, research advances and subspecialty care options not available anywhere else.
We are committed to providing optimal care to your patient and open communication with you. We understand that as a referring physician, you need to be kept informed on your patient’s progress. That’s why we set up a toolbox to share detailed information about your patient’s health with you.
For referral information, call:
At UC Health, we lead the region in scientific discoveries and embrace a spirit of purpose – offering our patients and their families something beyond everyday healthcare. At UC Health, we offer hope.