The Accelerators (Drs. Matt Spraker and Simul Parikh) team up with Radformation for a very special #ESTRO24 episode! We host Dr. Dora Correia, a Portuguese Radiation Oncologist currently working at Cantonal Hospital Aarau in Switzerland and EORTC Y-ECI ROSC Chair as well as Ana Rato, Medical Dosimetrist and Clinical Success Manager with Radformation. In honor of ESTRO 2024, we discuss a hot topic for the conference... reirradiation! We first compare and contrast patterns of referral and...

The Accelerators (Drs. Matt Spraker and Simul Parikh) host Dr. Clifford Hudis, medical oncologist and CEO of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.  We discuss a wide range of topics surrounding organizational leadership. While we examined the topic through a physician's lens, anyone that works in healthcare will love this conversation!  Leadership coaching, physician-led healthcare organizations, remote work and virtual care, engaging law makers and the public, and more!  Learn from...

In this episode, The Accelerators (Drs. Matt Spraker and Simul Parikh) host Mary Calys, DPT, a lymphedema physical therapist, and Katelyn Nees. They are the Senior Clinical Specialist and Senior Market Development Director for Tactile Medical, respectively. Mary and Katelyn update our medical knowledge on the etiology and management of lymphedema with a special focus on breast and head & neck cancers. Do not miss the awesome resources they provided for this show: a high-quality slide...

At the end of last year, Dr. Jason Beckta published a docu-podcast about clinical supervision of radiotherapy services (parts one, two, and three). The series covers supervision terms, legal precedent, and dispels the misinformation shared by conflicted parties.  In this episode, The Accelerators (Drs. Matt Spraker and Simul Parikh) join up with Jason to interview the famous Dr. Todd Scarbrough, the radiation oncologist at the center of supervision lore. Todd shares his story and we...

The Accelerators (Drs. Matt Spraker and Simul Parikh) host early career radiation oncologists Drs. Austin Sim, Anna Paulsson, and Avinash Chaurasia to discuss... early career (EC) issues in radiation oncology! It's no secret that this is a passion topic for TAP. One of our first episodes dished out practical tips for new attendings (and new residents), and we've since given an independent voice to our EC peers on a wide range of topics: boards, starting families, finding your place in...

It's another Accelerators journal club with Dr. Simul Parikh! In this episode Simul reviews a recent industry sponsored publication in Advances in Radiation Oncology. Image guidance improves freedom from recurrence rate after superficial radiation therapy for non-melanoma skin cancer The article retrospectively compares patients with skin cancer treated with image-guided superficial radiotherapy to other previously published cohorts. Such a definitive title for a retrospective study!...

The Accelerators (Drs. Matt Spraker and Simul Parikh) discuss critique versus negativity, why Simul quit social media, Student Doctor Network, and engaging in discourse about Radiation Oncology. This episode is a companion to an episode we recorded in December, but Matt initially decided to hold it back. The episode is a strong, journal club style critique of payer policy article published by the IJROBP that we feel should be retracted. We encourage you to listen to our "almost lost"...

For the first time ever, a lost episode has been found! The Accelerators (Drs. Matt Spraker and Simul Parikh) recorded a "reaction" episode to a brief report published in December 2023 in the IJROBP shortly after it published. The article demonstrates that freestanding departments have been slightly slower to implement hypofractionation for treatment of breast and prostate cancers that hospital-based departments. The authors argue that this burdens the healthcare system and propose ROCR as...

The Accelerators (Drs. Matt Spraker and Simul Parikh) host new Associate Executive Director for Radiation Oncology at The American Board of Radiology (ABR), Dr. Michael Yunes!  Mike is a community radiation oncologist in Springfield, MA and long time volunteer for the ABR. The transition to his leadership comes after a turbulent period for the Rad Onc board. Communication around the 2018 score anomalies dragged trainee confidence in the ABR to new lows and, soon after, COVID forced the...

Welcome to MattPAC*, a new Accelerators pilot concept! Radiation Oncologist Dr. Matt Spraker aims to introduce important healthcare policy concepts rooted in current events. Each show is designed to be efficient with your time and inspire you to get engaged with advocacy in around 30 minutes.  In MattPAC #1, Matt covers quality payment programs (QPP). QPPs aim to incentivize "High Quality Care" by adjusting a portion of physician's pay according to performance on quality indicators,...

The Accelerators (Drs. Matt Spraker and Simul Parikh) host the lung cancer legend, Brendon Stiles, MD. He is a Professor of Oncology, Medicine, and Thoracic Surgery at Montfiore and Albert Einstein College of Medicine. We discuss all things lung cancer: early stage, locally advanced, staging, quality, and more. The episode is capped with Simul's Lighting Round. Good luck Brendon! We hope you enjoy this #MedEd instant classic! Here are (almost?) all the studies and materials we mentioned...

The Accelerators (Drs. Matt Spraker and Simul Parikh) host Radiation Oncologist and prolific X'er Dr. Dave Chang for a discussion of Small Market Radiation Oncology. We wax philosophical about the work and life of docs formerly known as #LittleRadOnc: radiation oncologists often under resourced and practicing solo, working miles away from large US cities.  Dave's personal stories emphasize that the reality of radiation oncology "maldistribution" is a lot more complicated than is often...

The Accelerators (Drs. Matt Spraker and Simul Parikh) host radiation oncologists Dr. Jona Hattangadi-Gluth and PGY-5 resident Dr. Austin Hopper. Jona is a central nervous system malignancies expert, co-lead of the Central Nervous System Disease Team and Associate Professor of Radiation Oncology at UC San Diego. In this episode, we discuss Jona's lab's work in understanding the link between brain tumors, radiation (and other) treatments, and neurocognitive toxicity. We start by discussing...

Welcome to MattPAC*, a new Accelerators pilot concept! Radiation Oncologist Dr. Matt Spraker aims to introduce important healthcare policy concepts rooted in current events. Each show is designed to be efficient with your time and inspire you to get engaged with #RadOnc advocacy in 30 minutes or less.   In MattPAC #1, Matt covers two current congressional bills that are currently being considered for inclusion into next year's Medicare legislation: HR 2474 and HR3674. These bills seek to...

Friend of the show and GI super friend Dr. Nina Sanford joins The Accelerators (Drs. Matt Spraker and Simul Parikh) to host #RadOnc luminary Dr. Robert Timmerman, MD. Our discussion concludes with a discussion of proton and adaptive radiotherapy, Wagyu beef, life advice, and Simul's Hot Seat. Here are a couple of book recommendations from the show:  Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker, PhDOutlive by Peter Attia, MDThe Accelerators Podcast is a production of Photon Media, a division of Cold Light...

Friend of the show and GI super friend Dr. Nina Sanford joins The Accelerators (Drs. Matt Spraker and Simul Parikh) to host #RadOnc luminary Dr. Robert Timmerman, MD. No notes. It's Bob Timmerman, just listen. The Accelerators Podcast is a production of Photon Media, a division of Cold Light Legacy.

Accelerators co-host Dr. Matt Spraker is joined by Out Of The Basement co-host and Dr. Jason Beckta. We're talking #ASTRO23 and jobs, the theme of the conference for Matt. This episode is, in part, a reaction to Jason's most recent OOTB episode: Chicken Little Strikes Back. Jason weaves 2023's "hot" job market and the workforce data into a master narrative to describe the changing market across recent years.  As this episode is heavily referenced here, you may want to listen first!  (But...

It's a Photon Media crossover episode! Accelerators co-hosts Drs. Matt Spraker and Simul Parikh team up with Dr. Jason Beckta, host of the Out Of The Basement podcast, to talk about billing. We are joined by Shawna Stacey, ROCC, MBA, Coding and Billing Specialist at Radformation. The episode kicks off with a discussion about why you should care about billing and coding. Matt, Simul, and Jason discuss their (lack of training) training and experiences trying to learn on the job. Simply...

This week, Dr. Matt Spraker hosts medical student and Rad Onc applicant Dr. Laura Flores, PhD to discuss The Rad Onc Match!  With all these links there's no room for a summary, so just listen! Rank Order List: Buyers and Sellers Edition and accompanying videoThe Accelerators Podcast, Composite QoL Measure for #RadOnc HappinessThat WaPo article about physician salaries and an excellent SDN post explaining why the number reported for Rad Onc is inflatedMatt Spraker's Threads ERAS...

On this week's episode, Accelerator Dr. Simul Parikh hosts Radiation Oncologist Dr. Daniel Koffler to discuss psychedelics in oncology! They kick off the conversation by discussing ketamine. They review it's use in head and neck and gynecologic cancers, and discuss two trials by Daniel and colleagues (see below). Later, they discuss the systemic use of psychedelics, some practical advice for incorporating psychedelics (topical and systemic) and collaborating with psychiatrists and...

This week The Accelerators (Drs. Anna Brown, Matt Spraker, and Simul Parikh) host radiation oncologist and legend Dr. Join Luh. This show is all about Join! We discuss his path through internal and emergency medicine to radiation oncology, and his experience working as a rural, community radiation oncologist. What are the joys and challenges of serving a small community? We then discuss Join's advocacy for his practice and his patients throughout his career with a special focus on his...

Accelerators co-hosts Drs. Matt Spraker and Simul Parikh host Drs. Chris Booth and Aaron Goodman to discuss their new organization, Common Sense Oncology (CSO). Listen as Chris and Aaron describe the inspirational origin story of CSO, from an idea to a symposium to a groundbreaking movement. We discuss discomfort in speaking up against powerful voices in medicine, and how the interaction of hope and money can make this a big challenge. We then move on to discussing details of their...

The Accelerators co-hosts Drs. Matt Spraker and Simul Parikh hang out over lunch and discuss a potpourri of #RadOnc current events! We cover ASTRO’s ROCR policy proposal, Dr. Sameer Keole's ASTRO presidential campaign and engagement on Student Doctor Network, and the recent dysphagia optimized IMRT trial. Then, Simul hypothesizes about the future of radiation oncology under case rate payment models. We close with some more thoughts about proton therapy inspired by Dr. Mark Storey's...

Dear Radiation Oncology, Here are some thoughts about ASTRO's methods, and some reflections on ROCR and the updated Proton Model Policy. It is my plea for a more open and inclusive society. Love, Matt  [Links coming soon]