Radiation Oncology

In order to provide the best possible cancer therapies for its patients, the Radiation Oncology Department’s leading-edge radiation therapy equipment and facilities include a Varian linear accelerator with 6MV photons and five different electron energies, a linear accelerator vault with concrete walls up to 5 ½ feet thick, sevoflurane gas anesthesia equipment, and a three-dimensional radiation treatment planning system. The Department is headed by Deborah M. Prescott, DVM, PhD, DACVR (RO), a board-certified veterinary radiation oncologist who has treated thousands of pets with cancer during her 20 years in radiation oncology. Dr. Prescott is directly involved in the cancer therapy of every pet treated at the Radiation Oncology Department.

The primary types of radiation therapy (RT), curative radiation therapy and palliative radiation therapy, are described below:

Curative Radiation Therapy

The goal of curative RT (also known as definitive or full course RT) is long-term tumor control.  For best results, this type of RT is often combined with surgery and/or chemotherapy.  Typically, one treatment or fraction is given per day (Monday through Friday) over a 3 to 4 week period.  The protocol will vary slightly with tumor type, timing of RT relative to surgery (preoperative RT vs postoperative RT), and location of the tumor on the body.

Palliative Radiation Therapy

The goal of palliative RT (also known as coarse fractionation RT) is to improve or maintain the quality of life of the patient.  Palliative RT typically requires one visit to the clinic per week, with 3 to 6 fractions given per treatment over a 3 to 6 week period.  The protocol will vary slightly with tumor type and location of tumor on the body.

Since quality of life is our primary interest with palliative treatments, the RT protocols are designed to minimize acute RT side effects by giving fewer treatments with larger dose/fraction.  This allows rapidly-dividing normal cells time to recover between treatments.