Doctors, physicists, and therapists can all work in radiation oncology. Radiation oncology jobs involve using radiation therapy to treat cancer patients. The treatment is frequently given in conjunction with chemotherapy or surgery.
Radiation oncologists are doctors who specialize in cancer treatment. Medical physicists and radiation physicists are two types of physicists who work in this field to design and engineer treatment systems. Dosimetrists are therapists who calculate the doses of radiation therapy. The actual treatment is given by a radiation therapist.
Patients are referred to a radiation oncologist by other oncologists. Patients may have a variety of cancers that radiation oncologists can treat. Radiation oncologists consult with physicians and prescribe appropriate radiation therapy treatment. Radiation treatments cause harm to both cancerous and healthy cells. Only healthy cells can repair and reproduce themselves; cancer cells, on the other hand, are unable to reproduce and die.
Medical physicists can find radiation oncology jobs in the healthcare setting, medical research, and hospital engineering. These professionals apply technical expertise to diagnostic radiology, radiotherapy, non-ionizing radiation, and nuclear medicine using their understanding of physics. They will use medical imaging to plan radiation treatments, providing radiation oncologists with crucial information about the patient’s illness.
Medical physicists may also plan and install radiation equipment in hospitals, as well as test and ensure that the equipment is working properly. They will also ensure that proper radiation safety precautions are taken. In the field of medical research, medical physicists may also design new medical equipment.
Dosimetry is a branch of radiation oncology that necessitates a broad knowledge of cancer patient care. To provide the proper dose of radiation therapy to a cancer patient, dosimietrists collaborate with a medical physicist and a radiation oncologist. In radiation protection, machine calibration, and quality checks on radiation oncology equipment, dosimetrists may collaborate closely with medical physicists.
Dosimetrists must be able to calculate the correct radiation therapy dosage and delivery location. The prescribed dose, as well as the patient’s records, must be examined, and calculations must be verified using a system devised by a medical physicist. This necessitates an in-depth knowledge of radiobiology, physics, and human anatomy.
Radiation therapists are employed in radiation oncology and are responsible for positioning the patient and beaming radiation to a specific location on the body. The linear accelerator is the piece of equipment that the radiation therapist uses. The radiation therapist is also responsible for keeping track of the patient’s treatment and reporting to the radiation oncologist.