Philip Treuil is as North Carolina veterinarian whose specialty is radiation oncology. In addition to his practice at Carolina Veterinary Specialists, he has written research papers that have been published in peer-reviewed journals, and is a member of various professional associations.
As a radiation oncologist he provides patients with cancer treatment with radiation. As with humans, there are different types of radiation therapy for animals. Definitive radiation therapy, also known as curative-intent therapy, is an attempt to sterilize and destroy as many of the patient’s cancer cells as possible. It is most often performed following surgery to remove the visible portions of the tumor. In some cases it is used in patients without surgery. The radiation is performed daily for two to four weeks, with weekends off.
Another type of radiation treatment is palliative therapy. As with palliative therapy in humans, the goal of the treatment is to relieve the patient’s pain or discomfort, and possibly improve the function of a body part affected by the tumor. Palliative treatment is not meant to permanently sterilize the tumor cells, and is most often used when the tumors are not curable. The radiation is typically administered once a week for three to four weeks, or in some cases, once a day for five days.
As with human patients, a radiation oncologist provides several different types of therapies, depending on what is best suited to a particular case. One is external beam radiation therapy, in which the radiation is delivered by a machine that generates x-rays or gamma rays. Radiation may also be given with radioactive sources that are implanted directly in the patient’s body.
Philip Treuil s a member of the American College of Veterinary Radiology.