Radiation Oncology
 Patients completing their treatment at Banner Good Samaritan's Radiation Oncology department get to ring a bell designed by Paulo Soleri during a special celebration. |
The Department of Radiation Oncology at Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center offers state-of-the-art radiation therapy treatment for cancer and some non-malignant neoplasms such as acoustic neuromas, keloids, and Arterio-Venous Malformation.
External beam irradiation can be used in the conservative treatment of:
- Breast cancer
- Brain tumors
- Head and neck cancers
- Skin cancer
- Prostate cancer
- Gynecological cancers
- Lung cancer
When combined with chemotherapy, it is can be used to treat:
- Many gastrointestinal or colorectal malignancies
- Connective tissue tumors
- Bladder cancer
- Advanced breast cancer.
Treatment Options
According to the National Cancer Institute, two thirds of all cancer patients receive radiation therapy during their illness. Most of our procedures involve external beam radiation treatment using linear accelerators, which include specialized techniques such as Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy, Stereotactic Radiosurgery, Fractionated Stereotactic Radiation Therapy
Several other methods of radiation delivery are also used when appropriate. These include High Dose Rate Brachytherapy, permanent Low Dose Rate Brachytherapy, Total Body Irradiation and Total Skin Electron Therapy. Banner Good Samaritan is the radiation therapy provider for Phoenix Children's Hospital and Phoenix Indian Medical Center.
We have a team of radiation oncologists, medical physicists, dosimetrists, radiation therapists, oncology nurses, and support staff including social services and a registered dietician to provide the highest quality care. Our three board-certified radiation oncologists consult with patients to determine the best course of treatment.
The treatment is planned and verified with highest quality assurance by two board-certified dosimetrists and three physicists. Licensed radiation therapists deliver the planned treatments and our oncology nurses, social services and nutrition staff monitor our patients.
We use computer systems that can reconstruct diagnostic images in 3-D. We may use Positron Emission Tomography (PET), Computerized Tomography (CT) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) to most effectively treat the intended disease while sparing surrounding normal tissue.
