Radiation Oncology

Wake Forest Baptist Comprehensive Cancer Center offers the most advanced research programs in all areas of the radiation oncology specialty in North Carolina cities like Winston-Salem, Raleigh and Durham as well as South Carolina and Virginia.

If you or a loved one has recently been diagnosed with cancer, your doctor has probably told you there are typically three types of cancer treatment: surgery, chemotherapy and radiation oncology.

Radiation treatment involves killing cancer cells with the use of radioactive beams - highly concentrated radiation delivered in the exact spot to kill the tumor. Advanced technologies direct pre-programmed radiation beams while the patient lays still on the treatment table. Our team uses advanced imaging to plan a radiation dose to the tumor, so the beams mainly hit the cancer cells and not healthy tissue. 

Careful planning by our multidisciplinary team of physicians, dosimetrists, radiation therapists and physicists is the key to fighting cancer effectively with radiation therapy. At Wake Forest Baptist, our physicians are nationally-known for their contributions to the field of radiation therapy. We train future radiation oncologists in our fellowship program, and consistently improve radiation   treatment.

Multidisciplinary Approach to Cancer Care 

Many radiation cancer therapies require patients to spend weeks undergoing a treatment, which can be very demanding and exhausting. Our doctors and residents, registered nurses and radiation therapists, a social worker and a nutritionist are working together to offer the best possible environment and to help our patients to go through the process successfully. In addition, we have a nurse practitioner who provides guidance for patients with breast or prostate cancer. We are proud of our Cancer Patient Support program which can help with the psychological aspects of cancer care.

Compassionate and Patient-Focused Treatment

Most importantly, we treat every patient with warmth and compassion. We become a part of your extended family as you and your loved ones navigate your diagnosis and treatment process. Together, we work towards a successful outcome and a hopeful outlook.

Radiation Treatment Options

Part of why cancer has become so treatable in the past decade is because of major advances in radiation treatment. Targeting cancer cells through radioactive beams is a challenging process, as nearby critical tissues need to be shielded from exposure. By using computers and images of the size and location of tumors, physicians, physicists and dosimetrists can determine the optimal way to deliver the prescribed dose of radiation to the tumor, while minimizing the dose to normal, critical structures.

At the Comprehensive Cancer Center, we offer many advanced technologies for radiation treatment:

• Brachytherapy 
• External Beam Radiation
• Gamma Knife
• Image-Guided Radiotherapy
• Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy