Radiation Oncology

Yawkey Center for Outpatient Care, Francis H. Burr Proton Therapy Center
Phone: 617-724-1836 | Fax: 617-724-4808

MassGeneral Hospital for Children’s Department of Radiation Oncology provides radiation therapy for cancer patients of virtually all levels of complexity.

The goal of radiation therapy is to eradicate or shrink tumor cells without damaging surrounding healthy tissue. Radiation therapy may be used to cure a cancer, to help keep it from spreading, or to help improve quality of life by relieving pain or other symptoms.

Radiation therapy uses photons, electrons, and protons. Higher energy x-ray beams set at a specific distance from the body are used to destroy malignant tissues by causing a break down in the genetic structure or DNA of the cells. These cells are permanently damaged and cannot repair themselves.

Multidisciplinary Treatment for Complex Diagnoses

Clinical care for a child diagnosed with cancer involves a multidisciplinary approach and includes a coordinated team comprised of specialists in pediatric oncology, pediatric radiation oncology, and often, pediatric surgery, depending on the disease site.

State-of-the-Art Facilities in a World-Renowned Academic Medical Center

New treatments, including conformal three-dimensional radiation therapy and, more recently, protons, have great application in pediatric tumors. The Francis H. Burr Proton Therapy Center at Massachusetts General Hospital is the original proton therapy center in the United States. Proton radiation therapy allows radiation to be directed to a very limited area, which reduces potential damage to adjacent, healthy tissues. This is critical in all patients, but particularly true for pediatric patients where long-term effects on growth and development must be considered very carefully.

Conditions Treated

• Medulloblastoma
• Craniopharygioma
• Ependymoma
• Gliomas

• Retinoblastoma
• Pediatric bone and soft tissue sarcomas

MassGeneral Hospital for Children also provides state-of-the-art Stereotactic Radiosurgery (SRS), Stereotactic Radiation Therapy (SRT) and Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT).

Our radiation oncologists work with clinical physicists to bring the latest technological developments from industry to our patients. Treatment plans are created using the most advanced computing and imaging techniques. Clinicians, Radiation Oncologists, and Physicists have access to a complete array of devices to carefully administer radiation to “target tissues” while minimizing radiation exposure to uninvolved tissue.

Compassionate, Family-Centered Care

At MassGeneral Hospital for Children, we know that the time of your child’s diagnosis and treatment is a very stressful one and we strive to provide an open, welcoming environment. We believe that no one knows a child as well as the parent does: parents, along with primary care providers, become our partners in a child's care and have an active voice in all treatment plans.