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  Welcome What is Radiation Oncology? Meet the Physicians • Edmund Sacks, M.D. • Jay Meisel, M.D. •Charlotte Y Kim, M.D. Affiliations Clinical Studies   
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What is Radiation Oncology? Radiation Oncology (sometimes called radiation therapy or radio therapy) is the medical use of different kinds of radiation in the treatment of various diseases. The types of radiation commonly used are x-rays, gamma rays, and electrons. Each is produced by different kinds of equipment, but all of them are used to destroy abnormal cells while preserving the normal surrounding tissue. In many cases radiation therapy alone may the best method for the treatment of diseases such as cancer, but it may also be combined with surgery and/or chemotherapy.  Santa Cruz Radiation Oncology Medical
Group, Inc., is a full-service radiation facility. The treatment machine
used is a 6 MEV (6 million electron volt) Linear Accelerator, produced by
Varian Associates of Palo Alto.
This type of machine has been installed in
many  university hospitals. To complement the linear accelerator we utilize
a treatment simulator and a 3-D treatment
planning computer. Individually contoured lead blocks are used for shielding
when necessary, along with a wide array of up-to-date technological
devices. Providing radiation therapy is a team effort. The team is
headed by three radiation oncologists and a physician specializing in radiation
therapy. They are assisted by radiation oncology nurses, medical physicists,
medical dosimetrists, radiation therapy technologist, and radiation therapy
social workers. Each team member is trained, certified, or licensed as a
specialist.
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