Phone Numbers
Directory assistance
(203) 688-4242
Patient information
(203) 688-4177
Adult emergency
(203) 688-2222
Children's emergency
(203) 688-3333
Admitting
(203) 688-2221
Children's admitting
(203) 688-3331
Radiation Oncology
The Yale-New Haven Shoreline Medical Center (YNHSMC) Radiation Oncology Center, in affiliation with Yale University School of Medicine and the National Cancer Institute-designated Yale Cancer Center, provides convenient care for shoreline residents who are in need of daily radiation therapy treatments. In addition to treatments, full clinic services are also available to shoreline residents, including patient consultations and follow-up visits for patients who have completed their prescribed course of radiation therapy.
Hours of Operation:
8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Monday to Friday
On-call service 24 hours for urgent patient and physician concerns.
Patients needing radiation oncology services will receive a complete continuum of their care at YNHSMC, including:
- consultations
- treatment planning
- treatment delivery
- supportive care
- coordination with other specialists including medical oncologists and surgeons
- medical follow-up
External Beam Radiotherapy
External beam radiotherapy is treatment is administered at a distance from the body. At YNHSMC, it is delivered with a state-of-the-art dual energy Varian Linear Accelerator, which is capable of providing conventional radiotherapy, electron beam radiotherapy, three dimensional conformal radiotherapy, and intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT).
Treatment planning
At YNHSMC, we use a GE CT simulator providing multi-slice or helical cross-sectional imaging for precision localization of tumor and normal tissue structures.
IMRT
One of the newest methods for precision radiotherapy, IMRT utilizes a unique computer-based treatment planning and radiation delivery system. Conventional radiotherapy uses radiation beams of uniform intensity, exposing tumor and nearby normal tissues to the same radiation dose. With IMRT, multiple radiation beams are directed at a tumor target at different angles. The intensity of each beam is modulated by a multi-leaf collimator that produces individualized patterns of blocking across the beam under computer control. The summation of all the beams leads to a radiation dose pattern that more tightly conforms to the tumor while reducing radiation dose to adjacent normal tissues.
Results of clinical trials in prostate cancer demonstrate that the ability to increase the dose to tumor while reducing normal tissue exposure results in better cancer control and fewer side effects. IMRT appears to also be particularly advantageous in selected patients with head and neck cancer and some pediatric malignancies. Read more about IMRT.
Additional radiation oncology services such as brachytherapy (implanted radiation sources) or stereotactic radiosurgery (e.g. Gamma Knife) are readily available at Yale-New Haven Hospital.
Concurrent chemotherapy will be coordinated with the various medical oncology practices in the area. When patients require hospitalization at Yale-New Haven Hospital, their radiation treatments may be easily continued there and then smoothly transferred back to YNHSMC upon hospital discharge.
Finally, we are able to offer clinical trials to our patients through the Yale University School of Medicine. Currently, we have approximately 25 open protocols, many of which are sponsored by cooperative groups such as the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG), the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG), and the Childrens Oncology Group (COG).
The YNHSMC Radiation Oncology Center is primarily staffed by oncologists who simultaneously hold full time faculty appointments to the Yale University School of Medicine: Kenneth B. Roberts, MD, Medical Director; Susan A. Higgins, MD; Jonathan Knisely, MD; and Roy H. Decker, MD.
An attending physician is on the premises at all times and works closely with our highly experienced staff of nurses, radiation therapists, medical physicists, and dosimetrists.
Kenneth B. Roberts, MD, is the YNHSMC Radiation Oncology Center’s Medical Director. He has been on the Yale faculty for 15 years. He is board certified in both radiation oncology and medical oncology (though he practices only in radiation oncology). His undergraduate education was at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his medical school training was at Duke University. Since arriving at Yale-New Haven Hospital, his clinical practice has emphasized the management of lymphomas and pediatric malignancies. He also has extensive experience with gastro-intestinal tumors, prostate cancer and other genitourinary malignancies, gynecologic tumors, sarcomas, lung cancer and brain tumors. He also has an interest in brachytherapy, and in a non-oncologic application of radiotherapy, he has been directing our coronary brachytherapy program at Yale-New Haven Hospital.
Susan A. Higgins, MD, is an Associate Professor of Therapeutic Radiology at the Yale University School of Medicine and she has been a member of the Department of Therapeutic Radiology since 1996. She received her undergraduate and medical degrees from the University of Rochester. Dr. Higgins’ principal areas of expertise are gynecologic malignancies and breast cancer. She is a member of the Multidisciplinary Breast Cancer Center at Yale-New Haven Hospital and she is the director of the gynecologic oncology service in the Department of Therapeutic Radiology. As director of the gynecologic oncology service, she has extensive experience in treating cervical, uterine, vulvar and other gynecologic malignancies. She has also has extensive expertise in brachytherapy. In addition to radiation techniques such as conformal radiation therapy and IMRT, she also performs gamma knife radiosurgery.
Jonathan Knisely, MD is co-director of the Yale-New Haven Gamma Knife Center and board certified in radiation oncology and internal medicine. Dr. Knisely is a member of the Yale Cancer Center and associate professor of therapeutic radiology at the Yale University School of Medicine. His clinical interests include gamma knife radiosurgery; conformal radiation therapy; central nervous system; stereotactic radiosurgery; intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT); brain tumors; meningiomas; body radiosurgery; esophageal cancer; pancreatic cancer; gastric cancer; stomach cancer; rectal cancer; anal cancer; colon cancer; pituitary tumors; endocrine cancer; gastrointestinal cancer; lung cancer; prostate cancer; benign tumors, arterio-venous malformations (AVM).
Roy H. Decker, MD is an assistant professor of therapeutic radiology at the Yale University School of Medicine.
Dr. Decker’s clinical interests include head and neck cancer; lung cancer; prostate cancer; stereotactic body radiosurgery for lung and spinal tumors; and brachytherapy.
Patient Comments
“I received excellent care – I was made to feel safe and comfortable during a difficult time in my life. Everyone has a very positive attitude, which helped me to try to stay positive. Many thanks to all!”
“It could not have been a better, more pleasant experience. I feel most fortunate to have been able to go to the Yale-New Haven Shoreline Medical Center for my radiation. Not only is it convenient, but while it is fully professional, the warmth of the staff and the setting, make for a relaxed, un-hospital like atmosphere. The radiation therapists, nurses, and Dr. Higgins were tops!”
“Parking was wonderful. Plenty of spaces and convenient to front door. All personnel are very courteous. They all say “hello” and say their name. Everyone makes you feel very comfortable and they help to make your visit less stressful. The facility is very clean and neat. It was wonderful to go to Guilford!”
“What an incredible team of people. I was surrounded by total support and kindness during my radiation therapy, not to mention professional competence. I was quite nervous when I began my treatment, but at the end I can actually say these wonderful people made radiation fun! I feel truly fortunate to be one of their patients.”
“The facility was excellent and certainly made my course of treatment great in every aspect. Having everything so close to home removed all stress from the whole experience.”
“This department with all of its staff made this period in my life so much easier to deal with. There is no rating that I could give that could come close to the feeling that I have for each of your staff.”
What a nice surprise – the YNH Shoreline Medical Center.
- Appointments: (203) 453-7170
(Physicians making referrals will be able to speak directly with our physician staff) - Fax number: (203) 453-7210
- After-hour inquries: (203) 453-7170 or (203) 785-2957. To reach Dr. Roberts' New Haven office during the day, please call (203) 785-2957.
Last revised: Nov. 12, 2007 (dh)
