Radiation Physicist

[Beckie]

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Sorry if I'm posting this in the wrong place.

My question: I was wondering if the radiation oncologist or the radiation physicist does the mathematical modeling of the tumor?

I did some research and it seems like there is no "right" answer. Some websites say that the radiation oncologist is in charge of diagnosis and making sure the patient is taken care of. The radiation physicist is in charge of figuring out how much radiation to give the patient relative to the size of the tumor and the surrounding organs. Then I've found on other websites that the radiation oncologist gets to take care of the patient and do the mathematical stuff, and the radiation physicist just makes sure the proper safety procedures are followed and the machines are working right/calibrated.

Thanks!!

 

[Pewl]

By modeling do you mean the contouring? The radiation oncologist sees the patients and prescribes the dose and treatment to be done. The physicist will help with designing the actual treatment plan once the treatment approach is decided. Basic structure contours can be done by the physicist, dosimitrist or even certain treatment planning algorthitms nowadays. The rad onc will define the treatment target volumes. I think technically it's the computer or treatment planning system that does the real "math." There's definitely close communication between both sides (I was a medical physicist at one point). Heh, there's nothing more annoying than a rad onc that doesn't know how to draw feasible target volumes and tries to get the physicist or dosimetrist to make impossible treatment plans.