Experts in radiation oncology at Mayo Clinic treat more than 7,000 people who have a wide variety of cancers each year. Radiation oncologists work closely with medical oncologists, surgeons and other doctors to coordinate the most appropriate care for you.
Radiation therapy uses carefully targeted and regulated doses of high-energy radiation to kill cancer cells. Radiation causes some cancer cells to die immediately after treatment, but most die or become incapacitated as a result of the radiation-induced damage to the cancer cell's chromosomes and DNA.
- Experience and advanced technology. Mayo Clinic's radiation therapy services combine the quality and capability of state-of-the-art equipment with the expertise and compassion of the medical staff.
- Specialized skills. Each radiation oncologist has specialized training in performing radiation treatment for people with cancer and those with certain noncancerous (benign) conditions. The doctors further specialize by concentrating their individual practices on treating different types of cancers, including complex and rare cancers. This specialized expertise ensures precision treatment and improved outcomes.
- Treatment tailored to your needs. Mayo Clinic's radiation oncology professionals tailor treatment to your needs. After the radiation oncologist identifies the areas to be treated, radiation is directed to the cancerous tumors to minimize the dose of radiation to normal tissues.
- Comprehensive cancer center. Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center meets strict standards for a National Cancer Institute comprehensive cancer center, which recognizes scientific excellence, a strong research program and a multidisciplinary approach to cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment.
- Innovative clinical research studies. Clinical research studies designed by Mayo Clinic researchers and others are available to eligible people with cancer. Clinical studies provide the opportunity to participate in the newest and most innovative investigative programs that may offer the greatest hope for the most difficult cancer problems.
Radiation oncology services are provided to children at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and Phoenix/Scottsdale, Arizona.
Many Mayo Clinic Health System facilities also provide radiation oncology services. Staff at Mayo Clinic's campus in Minnesota care for people at several regional clinics and hospitals each day.
Mayo Clinic Health System clinics, hospitals and health care facilities serve more than 60 communities in Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin. These sites provide radiation oncology care to their local communities.
Specialty groups
The Department of Radiation Oncology at Mayo Clinic offers special disease and condition-related groups, which bring together the expertise of many specialists to evaluate and treat people with cancer and to conduct research. Teams of specialists are organized based on the location of the cancer.
Board-certified radiation oncologists are members of each disease site team:
- Bone marrow or stem cell transplant
- Breast
- Central nervous system (brain, spinal cord, neurological)
- Endocrine (thyroid, parathyroid, adrenal, pituitary)
- Gastrointestinal (anus, colon, rectum, esophagus, hepatobiliary, pancreas, stomach)
- Genitourinary (bladder, kidney, prostate, penis, testis, ureter)
- Gynecologic (cervix, ovary, uterus, vagina, vulva)
- Head and neck (nasopharynx, nasal cavity and sinuses, oral cavity, oropharynx, hypopharynx, larynx, salivary gland)
- Lung
- Lymphoma, leukemia and myeloma
- Melanoma
- Other skin cancers (squamous cell, basal cell, Merkel cell)
- Ophthalmology (orbital tumors, ocular melanoma)
- Pediatric cancers
- Sarcoma (bone, soft tissue, abdominal)
Each disease site team is independent, but all teams work together to develop diagnostic and treatment procedures, and guidelines for patient evaluation and care.