Radiation Therapy is a type of cancer treatment that uses beams of intense energy to kill cancer cells using a machine called a linear accelerator. The treatment is spread out over multiple days, and is given as an outpatient procedure typically 5 days a week. Modern methods are precise and able to use beams directly at the cancer cells while protecting normal tissues from significant damage.
This therapy is used to treat just about every type of cancer as well as some non-cancerous conditions. Both men and women of all people with cancer receive radiation therapy as part of their treatment course.
Radiation Therapy can be used at different times for different reasons:
- As the only treatment for cancer
- Before surgery to shrink the cancer
- After surgery to stop any regrowth of microscopic cancer cells left behind
- With other treatments like chemotherapy to destroy cancer cells
- To relieve symptoms from advanced cancer like pain or trouble breathing
- Alternatives to surgical removal of organs for certain cases
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To relieve pain or inflammation for non-cancerous conditions such as osteoarthritis, plantar fasciitis, or Dupuytren’s contraction
Our Provider
Jeffrey Peacock, MD
Raditaion Oncologist
Jeffrey Peacock, MD, is a board-certified radiation oncologist practicing at the Summit Healthcare Cancer Center. Dr. Peacock received his medical degree from the University of Central Florida College of Medicine and his radiation oncology residency at the University of South Florida Moffitt Cancer Center. After completing his residency, he served as an assistant professor of radiation oncology at the University of Alabama Birmingham.
There he started Alabama’s First HDR Prostate Brachytherapy program. Dr. Peacock has several peer-reviewed publications and received NIH grant funding for research on personalized radiotherapy. He is a member of the American Society of Therapeutic Radiation Oncology and the American Medical Association.
Dr. Peacock specializes in cutting edge radiotherapy techniques to treat cancer including stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT), stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS), intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), and brachytherapy. He offers non-surgical options to treat many disease sites including prostate, bladder, lung, and head and neck cancers.
