Radiation Oncology in Florida

Overview

Treatment planning conferences are an important part of designing a patient's treatment. The collective experience of the physicians and staff ensures that all issues are considered.

The Department of Radiation Oncology at Mayo Clinic in Florida is part of the nationwide Mayo Clinic organization. Patients in Jacksonville receive the benefits of all Mayo Clinic programs that study and treat malignant diseases.

Mayo Clinic is a leader in treating patients with cancer. Patients who come to Mayo Clinic for treatment receive care from a cancer center with distinguished programs in cancer diagnosis, prevention, treatment, basic and clinical research and community outreach. Our radiation therapy services are part of the Mayo Comprehensive Cancer Center, the first multicenter clinic in the United States to receive this National Cancer Institute-designation for its entire program.

The Department of Radiation Oncology is accredited by the American College of Radiology. More than 600 radiation-therapy patients are treated here every year. Radiation oncologists work closely with medical oncologists, surgeons and other physicians to coordinate care for each cancer patient.

In the Mayo system, one institutional review board approves research protocols, or clinical studies, for all Mayo group practices, including Jacksonville; Scottsdale, Ariz.; and Rochester, Minn. There are many active clinical trials at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville within the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group, the North Central Cancer Treatment Group, the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group, the Gynecologic Oncology Group and Mayo Foundation.

Patients and their families can learn more about cancer and find information about local resources in the Cancer Resource Room on the 8th floor of the Davis Building.

About Radiation Therapy

Radiation therapy, also called radiotherapy, uses carefully targeted and regulated doses of high-energy radiation to kill cancer cells. More than half of all people with cancer are treated with some type of radiation therapy. Radiation therapy may be your only cancer treatment, or it may be used in conjunction with other cancer treatments, such as surgery and chemotherapy.

Physician expertise and sophisticated treatment planning

Department physicians specialize in specific cancers and body organs, keeping up with the latest research and developments in their fields. You benefit not only from this focused expertise, but also from the collective wisdom of all the department's staff members, who meet regularly to discuss and review your treatment plan. Radiation oncologists work closely with medical oncologists, surgeons and other physicians to coordinate your care. The department also offers access to dozens of clinical trials or experimental treatments coordinated by the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group, the North Central Cancer Treatment Group, the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group, the Gynecologic Oncology Group and Mayo Foundation.

About radiotherapy treatment

The most common radiotherapy method is external radiation. This radiation is directed at a cancer from outside the body by a machine such as a linear accelerator. It allows your doctor to treat large and multiple areas of your body. Treatment is typically given on an outpatient basis five days a week for one to eight weeks. Patients are usually at the clinic for 30 minutes to an hour each day, although the treatment itself takes only 10 to 20 minutes. At Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, external radiation treatments include:

• Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT)
• Stereotactic radiosurgery (Similar to the Gamma Knife, it's sometimes called "bloodless surgery.")
• Three-dimensional conformal treatment

Internal radiation, also known as brachytherapy (brak-e-THER-uh-pee), is typically used when your doctor needs to deliver a high dose of radiation to a small area. It may be helpful in treating cancers of the cervix, uterus, vagina, prostate and breast as well as some head and neck cancers. Brachytherapy involves placing radioactive materials — encased in wires, seeds or small rod implants — next to or inside a tumor.