Radiation Oncology

The Cancer Center at South Carolina Oncology Associates performs radiation oncology in Columbia, SC.

Radiation oncology harnesses the power of ionizing radiation, which consists of highly energized particles, X-rays or gamma rays to treat cancer. SCOA offers several cutting edge radiation oncology technologies for cancer treatment in Columbia.

The radiation oncologists at SCOA are board-certified experts in the evaluation and treatment of cancer. Our radiation oncologists work with medical physicists, dosimetrists and nurses and therapists as part of a highly sought-after cancer fighting team. SCOA radiation oncologists work closely with medical oncologists, who provide treatment with chemotherapy and other types of therapy. This team approach to cancer care allows our radiation oncologists to treat cancer in the most effective and aggressive manner possible without compromising patient safety.

Radiation Oncology Technologies for Cancer Care in Columbia

Continuous improvements in technologies and techniques have revolutionized radiation oncology, and SCOA has been the pacesetter in radiation oncology in South Carolina and much of the Southeast. SCOA was one of the first South Carolina oncology centers to implement revolutionary radiation therapy treatments, such as:

• B-Mode Acquisition and Targeting system, a sophisticated three-dimensional tracking system that helps to localize tumors that sometimes move in between treatments.
• Intensity-modulated radiation therapy, a new radiation oncology technology that delivers radiation more precisely to the tumor while sparing healthy tissue nearby.
• Image-guided radiation therapy,the use of imaging during radiation to help localize tumors that move.
• Volumetric Arc Therapy, or VMAT, which can deliver a dose of radiation to the entire tumor in a single in a 360-degree rotation, unlike conventional IMRT treatments that must make repeated stops and starts to deliver several smaller doses.
• Sterotactic Body Radiation Therapy, or SBRT, which administers very high doses of radiation, using several beams of various intensities aimed at different angles to precisely target a tumor.

SCOA is one of a limited number of private practices with access to Gamma Knife technology, which uses precise beams of radiation to destroy tumors of the brain, head and neck. Our SCOA radiation oncologists and medical physicists work with neurosurgeons in South Carolina to provide care at the Gamma Knife Center of the Carolinas. There, they treat brain tumors, vascular abnormalities affecting blood vessels, and other neurologic conditions. Because the Gamma Knife uses beams of radiation rather than complicated invasive surgery, patients can undergo treatment as outpatients and avoid a lengthy hospital stay.

Our radiation oncologists use IMRT, IGRT, VMAT, SBRT, and Gamma Knife to treat cancer with submillimeter accuracy. These precision therapies allow our cancer doctors to target a tumor while minimizing the effects of radiation on the surrounding tissue, which gives patients the best possible outcome and the shortest recovery time.