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Referral Procedure and Initial Appointments
You will be referred to Saint Barnabas' Radiation Oncology
Department by your general physician, surgeon, oncologist,
or other specialist.
Hours
Treatment appointments……7 a.m. to
8 p.m., Monday through Friday
Physician appointmennts……8:30 a.m. to
4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday
*These are the general hours of operation and may be subject
to change.
Please call (973) 322-5630 to make an appointment. Every
effort will be made to accommodate your request for conveniently
scheduled treatment visits; however, we ask for your patience
as we simultaneously negotiate the needs of our many other
patients.
Prior to beginning treatment, you will have three scheduled
appointments in which important preparatory paperwork,
testing and your individual treatment plan are addressed.
Following these initial visits, you will be scheduled for
treatment. On average, patients receive radiation therapy
once a day for four to seven weeks. This schedule varies
greatly depending upon each patient's individual plan.
1. Your First Visit: The Consultation Appointment
Your first visit will last approximately 1 ½ hours.
Our receptionist will mail you forms that you need to complete
and bring to the consultation appointment along with your
insurance cards and, if applicable, a referral or authorization
from your primary physician. If you are unsure whether
a referral or authorization is needed, please call your
insurance company prior to your consultation so that you
bring the required information on the first day. You will
be responsible for any insurance co-payments at the time
of your consultation. (See Billing Information.)
You may be contacted by the hospital Admitting/Pre-registration
team before your appointment in order to enter or confirm
all pertinent personal and insurance information in the
hospital computer. This pre-registration process will make
your visit to our department quick and efficient.
Your doctor will be asked to forward medical information
to us, particularly if you are coming to Saint Barnabas
for the first time. If this is not done, you will be required
to bring with you or make arrangements to have the following
sent to us BEFORE the first visit:
- medical records
- pathology reports
- x-rays, CT and/or bone scans, MRI and/or other radiologic
images or reports
You will also meet with one of our board-certified radiation
oncologists who will plan your treatment and meet with
you on a weekly basis. Though you will be assigned to one
doctor, your physician's colleagues will be kept abreast
of your treatment in case your physician is unavailable
and you have a question or need medical attention in his
or her absence. You will have two additional "preparatory
visits" before your radiation therapy actually begins.
2. Your Second Visit: The Planning Session
During your planning session, you will meet with your radiation
oncologist again, as well as our nursing, and radiation
therapy staff. Patient education will be provided at this
time, including an overview of what to expect during your
treatment as well as the testing and preparations that
must be completed before your treatment begins.
The simulation process allows your doctor and our physicists/dosimetrists
to define the treatment plan.
An important component of this visit is identifying the
precise location for radiation therapy. Initially, marks
will be drawn on your skin to define the treatment area.
This is a customary and essential practice to ensure that
radiation is delivered to diseased cells and not to the
neighboring healthy tissue. Once treatment progresses,
options are available to maintain appropriate guide marks
on the skin. A select number of patients will need to be
fitted for precise positioning devices made of casting,
styrofoam or other lightweight materials, that will ensure
that there is no movement during treatment. Both the creation
and daily fitting of these materials is completely painless.
This planning session will take approximately two hours.
At its conclusion, you will make an appointment to return
for your final "pre-treatment" appointment.
3. Your Third Visit: The "Trial Run"
This 45-minute appointment will usually take place in the
afternoon. During this final visit before your regularly
scheduled treatments, staff members, including your doctor,
assigned radiation therapists, and physicists/dosimetrists
will take images, or films, of your position in conjunction
with the simulated plot of your radiation beams to ensure
the accuracy of your treatment plan.
At this time, minor adjustments, if necessary, will be
made, and your regular treatment times will be scheduled.
This trial run will give you a good idea of what to expect
during all of your treatment visits.
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