Radiation Oncology In India
What is Radiation Oncology ?
A radiation oncologist is a specialist physician who uses ionizing radiation (such as megavoltage X-rays or radionuclides) in the treatment of cancer. Radiation oncology is one of the three primary specialties, the other two being surgical and medical oncology, involved in the treatment of cancer.
Radiation can be given as a curative modality, either alone or in combination with surgery and/or chemotherapy. It may also be used palliatively, to relieve symptoms in patients with incurable cancers. A radiation oncologist may also use radiation to treat some benign diseases and benign tumors.
Radiation oncologists work closely with other physicians such as surgical oncologists, interventional radiologists, internal medicine subspecialists, and medical oncologists, as well as medical physicists and technicians as part of the multi-disciplinary cancer team
Debate
Whether surgical oncology constitutes a medical specialty per se is the topic of a heated debate. Today, some would agree that it is simply impossible for any one surgeon to be competent in the surgical management of all malignant disease.There are currently 19 surgical oncology fellowship training programs in the United States that have been approved by the Society of Surgical Oncology and this number is expect to grow.
Radiation Oncology
Training
In the United States, radiation oncologists undergo four years of residency (in addition to an internship), which is more dedicated oncology training than any other specialty. Currently, radiation oncology is one of the most competitive specialties for graduating medical students to obtain training in. During the four year post-graduate training, residents learn about clinical oncology, the physics and biology of ionizing radiation, and the treatment of cancer patients with radiation.