At Intermountain Cancer Services, patient care is a team effort. Our Intermountain Medical Group team members meet regularly to discuss patients’ diagnostic and treatment information in prospective multidisciplinary care conferences, meaning that each patient benefits from a wide range of expertise. Having representatives from many different disciplines involved in your care ensures that you will receive the best possible treatment for your specific needs.
During your treatment, you may interact with a variety of healthcare professionals. For most cancers, treatment is led by one or more primary physicians, including a medical oncologist, a surgical oncologist, and a radiation oncologist. Each of these physicians brings a defined set of expertise and techniques for treating cancer.
The physicians and other healthcare professionals on your treatment team are highly experienced in caring for patients with the type of cancer you have. Working together, your treatment team will develop a plan incorporating a combination of treatments that will lead to the best possible outcome for you.
Radiation Oncologists
A Radiation Oncologist is a doctor who specializes in using radiation to treat cancer. He or she leads your treatment and follow-up. These physicians work with the other members of the radiation therapy team to develop your treatment plan and ensure that each treatment is given safely and accurately. Your radiation oncologist will also monitor your progress and adjust the treatment as necessary to make sure the radiation is hitting its target while minimizing side effects. Before, during, and after your radiation therapy, your radiation oncologist works closely with other physicians such as medical oncologists and surgeons to maximize radiation's effectiveness.
View a list of our radiation oncologists >
Radiation Therapists
Radiation therapists work closely with the radiation oncologists to deliver daily radiation treatments. Radiation therapists are specially treained experts at operating the radiation therapy machines (linacs), and put you into position and direct the machine to deliver the radiation to the cancer site.
Medical Physicists
Medical physicists work with radiation oncologists during radiation therapy planning and delivery. Medical physicists make sure the equipment is functioning properly by taking precise measurements of the radiation beam and performing other safety procedures on a regular basis. They also develop and direct quality control programs for equipment and procedures to ensure maximum treatment safety. They are trained with advanced degrees and are appropriately credentialed to provide this important service.
Medical Dosimetrists
Dosimetrists work with radiation oncologists and medical physicists to develop a customized treatment plan that best destroys the tumor while sparing healthy tissue. They carefully calculate and optimize the dose of radiation to make sure the tumor gets the prescribed amount of radiation. These professionals require advanced training to create expert radiation plans.
Radiation Oncology Nurses
Radiation oncology nurses work with every member of the treatment team to care for you and your family before, during, and after treatment. Radiation oncology nurses answer your questions and give you information about your treatment. They also help you manage the possible side effects you may experience and explain how you can manage them. They evaluate how you are doing throughout treatment and help you manage any changes you may experience.