Radiation Oncology works with staff from the Hospital, the School of Medicine deliver comprehensive, state-of-the-art cancer care with a focus on delivering highly targeted radiation. The Department's innovative approaches to treatment and its ongoing acquisition of advanced technology have made it a regional resource.
Physicians play a key role in Stony Brook's multidisciplinary cancer teams. A team of physicists, dosimetrists, radiation therapists, nurses and nursing assistants, administrators, and clerical staff work together to provide the most streamlined and the best treatment.
Referring physicians and other oncologists involved in a patient's care are kept fully apprised of those plans and the patient's progress during and after radiation therapy. Patients and their family members actively participate in the collaborative approach to assessing needs and developing treatment plans.
Stony Brook has invested in state-of-the-art radiation technology, equipment, and systems. The most advanced treatment planning and information management software is used by the team to provide an integrated network for fast, efficient radiation planning and treatment that minimizes waiting times.
The goal of radiation therapy is to eradicate cancer with minimal or no side efforts. Several different radiation therapy techniques have been developed to accomplish this. Depending on the type of cancer to be treated, radiation therapy is administered either externally by clinical linear accelerators, or internally by brachytherapy implants into the tumor. Internal radiation therapies include bronchial brachytherapy, tandem and ovoid brachytherapy, vaginal cylinder brachytherapy, HDR prostate brachytherapy, oral and intravenous radionuclide therapy, and radioimmunotherapy.