What to Expect

Once a diagnosis of cancer has been made, you will probably talk with your primary care physician along with several cancer specialists, such as a surgeon, a medical oncologist and a radiation oncologist. You will want to ask these doctors about all your treatment options. 

In many cases, your cancer will need to be treated by using more than one type of treatment. For example, if you have cancer of the colon, rectum or anus, you might have surgery to remove the tumor which can be followed by radiation therapy to destroy nearby cancer cells (by a radiation oncologist). You also might receive chemotherapy (by a medical oncologist) to destroy cancer cells that may have traveled to other parts of the body and to make the radiation therapy even more effective. In some cases, surgery may be able to be avoided if there is an excellent response to combined radiation and chemotherapy.

After reviewing your medical record including imaging, as well as completing a thorough patient history and physical examination, your radiation oncologist will discuss with you the potential benefits and risks of radiation therapy and answer your questions. For a list of questions that you may want to ask, please see the section Questions to Ask Your Doctor.