Patient Education
RTAnswers
ASTRO’s patient website, rtanswers.org, is a resource for patients and caregivers to find detailed information about radiation therapy; what to expect before, during and after treatment; questions for patients to ask about radiation safety; a dictionary to help patients with common terms and “Find a Radiation Oncologist” where patients and referring physicians can locate radiation oncologists in their area.
Videos
ASTRO has created a series of videos to help patients better understand what to expect when receiving radiation therapy for cancer. There is an introductory video, as well as eight disease site specific videos available in both English and Spanish. These videos are available for members to view or embed on their own facility sites. The videos are available for purchase as downloadable files from the ASTRO product catalog.
Brochures
ASTRO has a collection of 17 brochures on both general radiation therapy, as well as disease-site specific topics that are available for download and to purchase from the product catalog. These brochures were created to help physicians provide information to people with cancer and their families about the treatment options available.
RT for Cancer Presentation
ASTRO's Communications Committee has created a PowerPoint presentation for members to use as a resource for presentations to the public, such as during a Rotary Club presentation. This PowerPoint is a general overview of what radiation therapy is and how it is used to safely and effectively treat cancer.
ASTRO gratefully acknowledges our Partners in Patient Education (PiPE) for their generous support of our patient education materials.
Physician Education
Radiation Therapy Presentations
ASTRO has created PowerPoint presentations for members to use as a resource for presentations to other medical professionals and medical students. Written by members of the Communications Committee, these presentations were created with the intention of educating other medical professionals, including residents and fellows and other oncologists as well as medical students.
Clinical Practice Guidelines
ASTRO develops clinical documents aimed at improving the quality and safety of radiation therapy in your practice. Clinical practice guidelines are evidence-based documents that help your team make informed treatment decisions from a body of established literature complemented by expert opinion. Clinical documents such as guidance papers, white papers and practice parameters are based on the consensus of a multidisciplinary panel of subject matter experts and focus on a technology or process in specific areas of clinical practice. Access to all clinical documents is found at www.astro.org/astroguidelines.
Journals
ASTRO publishes three top-notch journals to bring the latest radiation oncology research to our members quickly. Our flagship journal, the International Journal of Radiation Oncology • Biology • Physics, also known as the Red Journal, focuses on cutting-edge prospective clinical research. Its companion journal Practical Radiation Oncology, publishes research such as guidelines and white papers that will make an impact in your practice today. Our open access journal, Advances in Radiation Oncology, focuses on important retrospective work, clinical trial reanalysis, survey analyses and case reports.
Physician Networking and Communication
ROhub
The ROhub is ASTRO's official online community platform serving all ASTRO members, committees and interest groups. The ROhub is an exclusive member benefit that was officially launched in December 2018 with the opening of the Open Forum, an all member community. This secure forum offers opportunities for open discussion with other members discuss relevant and timely topics, share resources, make connections and network.
In addition, ROhub is home to the ASTRO Member Directory where you can search for other members by name, location, specialty and more. The newest addition to ROhub includes the Peer-to-Peer Match program, a platform to connect radiation oncologists for the purpose of peer review.
Mentor Match
Further your professional career using ASTRO’s Mentor Match program. This unique online networking and career development tool helps you find, connect and share experiences with others. Whether you’ve been in the radiation oncology field for many years or brand new, becoming a mentor or mentee will help you build meaningful rapport to meet your professional career goals with your peers.
The Mentor Match program is located in the ROhub and provides an automated process that lets you enroll and search for a mentor or mentee.
Any ASTRO member can enroll in the program to be a mentor and or a mentor. Once enrolled, you can then search the Mentor or Mentee directory with specified criteria you can choose. As you view participating members profile you can then find your potential match and send them a message.
Peer to Peer
Located in the ROhub, Peer-to-Peer Match is the latest addition to an expanding line-up of ASTRO services to support members. It is an online tool – including a searchable database – that facilitates the establishment of relationships for the purpose of peer review of patient cases. It is user-driven, allowing enrolled participants to search, using specified criteria, to find other interested individuals whose experience and expertise would assist them in evaluating patient cases and treatment plans. This platform may be used for ongoing peer-to-peer relationships or a one-off case review with a specialist. Participants will communicate outside the platform using their own communication vehicles to establish the parameters of the relationship and review cases.