Mission Statement

Radiation Oncology is a clinical and scientific endeavor devoted to the management of patients with cancer by ionizing radiation, alone or combined with other modalities, to the investigation of applications of radiation therapy and the training of personnel in the field. Education and research are integral to improving patient care.

The objective of radiation therapy is to deliver a precisely measured dose of radiation to a defined tumor volume with minimal distress to surrounding healthy tissue, resulting in eradication of the tumor, a higher quality of life, and prolongation of survival. In addition to curative efforts, radiation therapy is a major component in cancer management is also an effective palliation or prevention of the symptoms of the disease.

Advances are being made in the use of radiation therapy in the management of some benign diseases as well, such as endovascular radiotherapy, macular degeneration, organ transplantation, AVM and acoustic neuromas, heterotopic bone, inflammatory joint disease, aggressive fibromatosis, pituitary adenomas, and benign tumors.

The mission of the Department of Radiation Oncology is to provide the highest quality patient care, research, education and community services:

• Establish standards, in collaboration with LUMC, to deliver the best and most cost effective treatment to our patients and coordinate our efforts with other physicians and oncologists to optimally combine various modalities of therapy.
• Contribute to the understanding of the biology of cancer by investigating the reaction of the host to cancer, the response to normal and cancerous tissues to various anticancer agents, and the fundamental principles involved in the growth and differentiation of normal and cancer cells.
• Seek more effective applications of ionizing radiation to cancer therapy through multifaceted investigation and to enhance the contributions of various disciplines to the optimal utilization of radiation in the treatment of patients, i.e. pre-clinical input in the development of therapeutic strategies, three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy, stereotactic irradiation, etc.
• Promote the specialty by:
  • resident training,
  • teaching medical students,
  • conducting training programs for physicists, dosimetrists, and technologists,
  • participating in the training of other oncological disciplines, and
  • providing education programs, conferences and seminars for physicians, nurses and technologists in the community.
• Close collaboration with the Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center encompassing patient care, education and research.
• Foster interactions between academic medicine and community physicians.
• Provide needed services to the patients in the community.