Product Description

External beam therapy is the most common form of radiotherapy, delivering ionizing radiation such as high-energy x-rays, gamma rays or electron beams directly into the location of the patient's tumour. The beam is generated externally, with no radioactive sources placed within the patient's body. The beams aim at destroying the cancer cells with minimal impact on the surrounding healthy tissue. The radiation oncologist will choose between different ways of administering the beams, such as linear accelerators, cobalt machines, or ortho-voltage x-ray machines. The three distinct stages of simulation, planning and treatment are critical to ensuring the highest rate of success. This book is an essential, practical guide to the use of external beam radiotherapy, highlighting the rapid technological advances made in recent years. It provides a firm background to the physics of external beam radiotherapy, taking the reader through the basic principles and discussing issues such as quality assurance. Experts within each field then expand upon techniques for treatment delivery within each anatomical site, covering indications, treatment and planning. ABOUT THE SERIES Radiotherapy remains the major non-surgical treatment modality for the management of malignant disease, with over 50% of patients receiving treatment at some time during the management of their malignant disease. It is based on the application of the principles of applied physics, radiobiology, and tumour biology to clinical practice. Each volume in this series takes the reader through the basic principles of different types of radiotherapy, and then develops these by individual sites. This series of practical handbooks are aimed at physicians both training and practising in radiotherapy, as well as medical physicists, dosimetrists, radiographers and senior nurses.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #132924 in Books
• Published on: 2006-08-24
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 480 pages

Review
A very nice and practically useful book for those involved in radiotherapy planning, clinical decision-making, and delivery. ... Trainees in radiotherapy in particular will find this book invaluable. It is a text that will be used rather than simply gather dust on the shelf. (BMA Medical Book Competition 2007 )

This clear, concise handbook provides an up-to-date mixture of evidence-based medicine and expert opinion for the relevant clinical application of external beam radiotherapy. With its easy-to-use format, it will be a valuable part of the radiotherapy library. (Doody's Notes )

A practical guide to daily clinical practice in the radiotherapy department. External Beam Therapy is an invaluable companion to trainees in medical physics, therapeutic radiography, and clinical or radiation oncology. (Anticancer Research 26 )

Customer Reviews

A must for therapy students
I am a second year Bsc Radiotherapy Student and I cannot praise this book enough. It is easy to read and understand and the techniques are much more up to date than any of the other standard course texts e.g. Dobbs, Barrett & Ash. I think this will replace many existing text books as the essential course reader.

A Useful Radiotherapy Text Book
This book has two qualities not often present in Radiotherapy textbooks: Good value (it was cheaper when I bought it!) and being up to date. It has a number of contributors, an advantage in that a range of viewpoints are given. It will be useful to Oncologists, SPRs Radiographers and Physicists.

It gives a useful site by site description of radiotherapy approaches. I feel it could do with an expanded Physics section, but this it not a significant criticism.

Recommended.

Excellent book.
An excellent hand-book for practical radiotherapy planning. The first manual in the UK to explain the process of 3D conformal radiotherapy planning. The facts are well supported by evidence referenced at the end of each chapter. I found this book to be a valuable resource during my preparations for the FRCR (clinical oncology) exams.