08/17/16  Portland, Ore.

 

 Pictured left to right:

 OHSU Knight Cancer Institute dosimetrists Barbara Agrimson, Debra Monaco and Stephen Rhodes

 Not pictured: Paul Cooper

 

 

Today is National Medical Dosimetrist's Day

The third Wednesday of August is designated as National Medical Dosimetrist's Day to celebrate medical dosimetry professionals around the world.

Medical dosimetrists are key members of the radiation oncology team at the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute and play a critical role in cancer survivorship.

Dosimetrists design a treatment plan based on the radiation oncologist's prescribed radiation dose, maintaining a delicate balance between delivering the prescription and also ensuring the patient will not lose important healthy organ function.

Using imaging tools such as CT scans, alone or in combination with MRI or PET scans, dosimetrists analyze 3-D tumor models to target higher doses of radiation to a tumor and lower doses to the sensitive structures around it.

"Dosimetrists are an important link to the Knight Radiation Medicine clinical program, said Charles R. Thomas, Jr., M.D., professor and chair of the Department of Radiation Medicine in the OHSU School of Medicine. "Today is a great way to recognize their contributions."

The OHSU Knight Cancer Institute dosimetry team includes Barbara Agrimson, Debra Monaco, Stephen Rhodes and Paul Cooper. Their office is located on the fourth floor of the Kohler Pavilion and each day, one member of the team is stationed at the Knight Cancer Institute's Beaverton or Tuality locations.