Frequently Asked Questions

What is a Radiation-Oncologist?

A radiation oncologist is a physician who uses radiation therapy to treat patients with cancer. Radiation therapy can be used alone to treat cancer, or in combination with surgery, chemotherapy and/or biological therapy to obtain the desired results. Radiation can also be utilized for pain management. The Radiation Oncologists of Woodlands Medical Specialists work closely with other physicians, including Medical Oncologists, Surgeons, and Internal Medicine Specialists, as part of a multi-disciplinary cancer team.

All radiation oncologists of Woodlands Medical Specialists are board certified in radiation-oncology.

What is cancer?

Normal cells grow in an orderly process. They are programmed by the body to grow, multiply, mature, and become specialized in a controlled way and then die. Sometimes the orderly process goes wrong and cancer cells begin to form and grow. Cancer cells follow no rules. They grow rapidly without control and without purpose except to divide and form more cancer cells.

When cancer cells begin to multiply, they may form a growth or tumor. When the tumor grows and spreads it is called malignant. Malignant tumors spread to and invade other organs and parts of the body causing damage and death to normal cells and organs. Cancers that do not form tumors may form in the blood or organs that produce blood. These tumors may spread through the blood or lymph system and invade other tissue and organs.

What causes cancer?

We don't always know the cause of someone's cancer, but personal habits, genetic susceptibility, and/or exposure to carcinogenic agents are known cause several cancers. The most commonly identified causes of cancer include smoking, excessive exposure to sun, certain types of sublethal radiation, toxic chemicals, or certain viruses or bacteria, drinking too much alcohol, poor diet and obesity, lack of exercise, and growing old. Smoking is the most preventable cause of cancer-related death in the United States.

How is cancer treated?

Cancer is treated in many ways but surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, and biologic therapies are the mainstay of cancer therapy. Surgery and radiation remove and destroy the tumor. Chemotherapy, hormone and biologic therapy, and bone marrow transplantation are therapies to destroy cancer cells that have spread away from the main (primary) tumor and have invaded other organs or tissues.

Cancer treatment is based on each patient's unique condition. The type of cancer, the stage of the cancer, the patient's general state of health, and other factors, including the patient’s preferences, determine treatment.

Different cancers respond to particular treatments, so it is essential to identify the type of cancer to know what treatments will be most effective. The cancer's stage (how widespread it is) is also a factor in determining the best course of treatment. The patient’s overall health, lifestyle, and personal preferences also play a part in deciding which treatment options are best.

How can I prevent cancer from developing?

Cancer prevention is a core mission of the Woodlands Center for Medical Specialists. Prevention activities focus on risk factors that are modifiable. Some environmental risk factors have a substantial impact on cancer development and include tobacco use, poor nutrition, physical inactivity and obesity, alcoholic consumption, excessive sun exposure, certain chronic infections such as human papilloma virus. All of these factors are “environmental” in the sense they are acquired and potentially controllable rather than inherited genetically.

Tobacco related malignancies represent the largest category and number of cancers that are essentially self induced.

For additional information on Radiation Therapy, please visit the National Cancer Institute’s website: http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Therapy/radiation