Radiation Safety – Your safety is a top priority at the Cancer Center of Gaithersburg.
Radiation has been used successfully to treat patients for more than 100 years, but there is still a fear associated for patients. Radiation therapy delivery has become so precise that damage to surrounding healthy tissue is very minimized with today’s technology. Radiation oncologists, therapists, physicists, and equipment specialists perform safety checks at every step of the delivery of treatment. These checks will ensure that radiation therapy treatments are the designated treatment plan for each patient. The team will make modifications as necessary to provide the effectiveness and safety for each patient. If you undergo external beam radiation therapy, you will not be radioactive after treatment ends because the radiation does not stay in your body. However, if you undergo brachytherapy, tiny radioactive seeds will be implanted into your body either temporarily or permanently.
As part of our safety process we:
- Ensure the amount of radiation you get is exactly the amount prescribed
- Verify that you are positioned properly
- Detect any changes in your anatomy that may require a change in your treatment plan
- Validate that the equipment is perfectly calibrated and working properly
- Provide you with peace of mind and the most stress-free experience possible
Ensuring Accuracy
As part of our safety,
As part of our safety, each day our radiation equipment is put through an array of tests by a therapist and then verified by the physicist at specific intervals. Quality assurance testing is performed at daily, monthly and yearly intervals and any time a change is made to a piece of equipment.
Inspections, Certifications and Reporting
All linear accelerators are inspected and certified before installation. Upon installation, our physics group performs acceptance testing to make sure the product performs up to the quoted standards and specifications of the manufacturer. The equipment not only meets, but exceeds the requirements from the State as well as the manufacturer Quality assurance checks are done on a regular basis with reports provided to the State.
