Advanced Cancer Care Close to Home
Ryan Ramsburg with his wife, Sarah, and son, Gavin.
The diagnosis of cancer is jarring to those receiving the news. Holzer Center for Cancer Care provides state-of-the-art treatment for all cancer sites with gentle, precise, and individualized care. Ryan Ramsburg, R.T. (R)(T) (CMD) sat down to discuss dosimetry and how cancer care is being taken to the next level right here at home.
“Dosimetry is treatment planning for radiation oncology,” said Ramsburg. “I take the images from cat scans, pet scans, MRIs and figure out how to apply a safe radiation dose to kill the cancer but protect all the healthy tissue around it.”
As the only dosimetrist within the system, Ramsburg spends each day calculating and conversing with his computer to figure out the correct dosage of radiation for patients. There are a lot of numbers that are put in the system, and some calculations can take 15 minutes, but others may take hours.
“I bounce back and forth between treatment plans constantly working to get the information I need for patients to have the right game plan,” said Ramsburg. “I may look at it and know I can give this much of a dosage, but if it goes any higher it can run the risk of causing long-term side effects such as blindness and even paralysis.”
Ramsburg joined Holzer in 2003 as a radiologic technologist, went on to obtain his degree from the University of Kentucky to become a radiation therapist and then went into medical dosimetry, which is his current role today. Ramsburg shared that in today’s work, most dosimetrists have their master’s degree within the field.
“I stumbled into dosimetry just from my background working at Holzer,” said Ramsburg. “This part (dosimetry) is the part that no one ever really knows about. If you do not need a dosimetrist, you will never know what a dosimetrist does.”
The Holzer Center for Cancer Care, now in affiliation with The Cleveland Clinic, offers a wide variety of treatment options. In 2018, radio surgery (TrueBeam™ Radiotherapy System) began at the center to allow for high doses of radiation treatment in a short amount of time, returning patients back to their lives quicker. The TrueBeam™ Radiotherapy System is the same system used in most large academic centers today.
“The technology that we have here at the cancer center is why patients should ‘Think Holzer First,’” said Ramsburg. “Most people do not know all the services available here, and it is incredible. I am amazed every single day at what we can do for our patients.”
Ramsburg is among the top ten dosimetrists in the United States and was ranked 44th in the 2019 World Championship of Treatment Planning. He resides in Pomeroy, Ohio on a 200-acre farm with his wife Sarah and their son Gavin. In his free time, Ramsburg enjoys hunting, fishing, travelling, and making fishing lures.
The Holzer Center for Cancer Care provides state-of-the-art treatment for all cancer sites with gentle, competent, and individualized care. For more information on the types of cancer services available, call 1-855-4-HOLZER or visit www.holzer.org.
