Information for RADIATION-ONCOLOGY

Mailing list name: RADIATION-ONCOLOGY  (moderated)

E-mail posting address: radoncjc@net.bio.net

Moderator:	Brian J. Goldsmith, M.D.
		Chief, Radiation Oncology, Tripler Army Medical Center
		Secretary, Uniformed Services Radiation Oncology Group
		hawaiirt@aol.com

The main purpose of this discussion group is to provide a forum for
the dissemination and discussion of professional literature
specifically relating to Radiation Oncology, such as:
 
  Radiotherapy for Central Nervous System Tumors
  Radiotherapy for Head and Neck Cancer
  Radiotherapy for Breast Cancer
  Radiotherapy for Cancers of the Lung and Mediastinum
  Radiotherapy for Gastrointestinal Malignancies
  Radiotherapy for Genitourinary Malignancies
  Radiotherapy for Gyn Cancers
  Radiotherapy for Reticuloendothelial Malignancies
  Radiotherapy for Pediatric Malignancies
  Radiobiology
  Radiation Therapy Physics and Dosimetry

At present there is no newsgroup for Radiation Oncology, or for an
internet-based journal club (discussion forum for reviewing
contemporary articles of interest to the Oncology health care
provider).  This newsgroup would provide a forum for cancer patients
(1.2 million per year in the United States), their families, and
Radiation Oncology professionals that number over 3,000 in the United
States.  Medical and Surgical Oncologists, as well as Oncology
Clinical Nurse Specialists, Radiation Therapy Technologists, and
health care administrators would also find educational utility in this
newsgroup, expanding its potential professional readership to well
over10,000 in the United States alone.

Radiation Oncology is the medical specialty devoted to the care of the
patient with cancer, utilizing megavoltage photon radiation as its
primary therapeutic modality.  Approximately 60% of all cancer
patients in the United States receive radiation therapy each year
either as definitive therapy, for palliation, or as an adjunct to
surgery or chemotherapy.  In 1994 according to American Cancer Society
estimates, 1,208,000 new cases of cancer were diagnosed in the United
States.

Radiation Oncology is a dynamic medical specialty, agressively
oriented toward research and professional literature, with the goal of
improving cure rates and lessening the morbidity of therapy.  The
proposed newsgroup will facilitate patient and professional education
by enabling universal access to contemporary publications identified
by nationally-recognized, university-based Radiation Oncology experts.
Utilizing a moderated forum, scholarly discussion re these articles
will flourish, thereby facilitating improvement in patient education,
patterns of care in private practice, education of
physicians-in-training (Residents), communication between Radiation
Oncologists and their fellow physicians of other specialties, and
coordination with ancillary care / technical / and administrative
professionals.

Subscribers interested in the Radiation Oncology professional
literature are welcome.  Contributions consistent with the objectives
of this newsgroup are encouraged.  The newsgroup will be moderated,
and I will act as moderator.

Brian J. Goldsmith, M.D.
Chief, Radiation Oncology, Tripler Army Medical Center
Secretary, Uniformed Services Radiation Oncology Group