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PAMF Radiation Oncology Services

To precisely target cancer cells and spare healthy tissue, radiation oncologists at Palo Alto Medical Foundation use state-of-the-art radiation therapies. Your cancer care team will work with you to choose the best treatment plan based on the type of cancer you have, its location and your physical condition.

Woman receiving radiation therapy

Featured Services

  • Brachytherapy
  • Radiosurgery

Radiation Oncology Services

Radiation oncologists use a range of radiation therapies to destroy cancer cells and spare healthy tissue. Your cancer care team will work with you to choose the right treatment method based on your cancer type and health situation. Here are some of the radiation therapy options available.

Radiology doctor

External Beam Therapy

A beam or beams of high-energy X-rays generated by a linear accelerator are delivered to the tumor, killing the cancer cells while sparing the surrounding normal tissue. Medical images, including x-ray, MRI, CT and PET, are used to design your care plan. A variety of technologies shape the treatment beam, enabling a higher-energy dose to be safely delivered.

  • 3D conformal therapy – Delivers a radiation dose that is shaped to conform to the tumor and avoid healthy tissue.
  • Image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT) – Provides precise targeting with frequent imaging when the tumor is likely to move (lung or prostate) or is near critical organs.
  • Intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) – Delivers radiation in hundreds of segments, focusing specifically on the shape of the tumor.
  • Tomotherapy – Used to target the radiation dose across a tumor in carefully delivered “slices.”
  • Volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) – Delivers radiation in a 360-degree rotation around the patient.

Proton Beam Radiation Therapy

Proton therapy provides the radiation oncologist with the ability to increase the intensity of the radiation delivered to the tumor while decreasing the amount of radiation healthy tissue receives by energizing the protons in three dimensions using a cyclotron.

Stereotactic Radiosurgery (SRS)

High-energy radiation beams replace scalpels in SRS, used to treat small brain tumors that can’t be removed with surgery or that require extreme precision. When used to treat body tumors in the lung, liver, prostate and spine, SRS is called stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT). SRS and SBRT machines use robotics and stabilizing devices to prevent patient movement and ensure precise targeting.

Brachytherapy

For some cancers, the best treatment is to place the radiation source in or near the tumor, called brachytherapy. A radioactive source is placed in a very small container, or implant, and delivered using a catheter or other device.

Intraoperative Radiotherapy (IORT)

Some patients with bile duct, breast, colorectal, ovarian, pancreatic and spinal cancer can receive a concentrated dose of radiation to the surgical site after a tumor has been removed. This may prevent the inconvenience of returning for radiation therapy treatments following surgery.

What Is Radiosurgery?

play video

PAMF radiation oncologist Pauling Chang, M.D., explains how noninvasive radiosurgery therapy precisely targets tumors.

Clinical Perspectives

Doctor studying DNA

Precision Medicine

Growing knowledge of the human genome is changing the way we treat cancer. The National Cancer Institute’s Precision Medicine Initiative has opened the door to exciting new research and therapies that already are expanding options and personalizing treatment for people with cancer.

Lymphoma Research

Sutter Health Lymphoma Research

Sutter Health Lymphoma Research Sutter Health Lymphoma Research

Doctors at Palo Alto Medical Foundation

The following doctors are part of the Sutter Health network. Learn about the doctors on this site.
Al V. Taira, M.D.

Al V. Taira, M.D.

  • Radiation Oncology

Robert N. Sinha, M.D.

Robert N. Sinha, M.D.

  • Radiation Oncology

Robert E. Lundahl, M.D.

Robert E. Lundahl, M.D.

  • Radiation Oncology

Daniel Schiffner, M.D.

Daniel Schiffner, M.D.

  • Radiation Oncology

Dhara M. MacDermed, M.D., M.S.

Dhara M. MacDermed, M.D., M.S.

  • Radiation Oncology

Pauling Chang, M.D.

Pauling Chang, M.D.

  • Radiation Oncology

View All Related Doctors

Services Near You

Palo Alto Center

Palo Alto Center

795 El Camino Real

Palo Alto, CA 94301

(650) 321-4121

Sunnyvale Center (301)

Sunnyvale Center (301)

301 Old San Francisco Road

Sunnyvale, CA 94086

View All Related Locations

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